In consultation with the Grey Bruce Health Unit and the Ontario Clean Water Agency, the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula issued a precautionary Boil Water Advisory (BWA) as part of the response to a water main break incident in Lion’s Head.
On November 13, 2021, around 10 pm, a water main break in the municipal water system caused
loss of pressure affecting about 370 households. About 50 of them are without any water at all. The other 320 households still have water, but there is a risk that the water in the system may have been contaminated due to the loss pressure. In such incidents, contamination of the water system by harmful bacteria, such as E.coli could take place. Chlorine residual levels remain adequate within the water system.
The municipal team has been implementing measures to mitigate the incident:
A Precautionary Boil Water Advisory (copy attached) was issued and will remain in place until there is confirmation that the water main is repaired, AND the water within the system is confirmed to be free from bacteria (through regular and repeated testing throughout the system)
Notification to operators of high-risk settings such as the Long Term Care Home, hospital, school, and childcare settings took place Nov 13 2021. Door-to-door delivery of the advisory pamphlets by the fire department and its volunteers commenced Nov 14 at 7:00 am and completed 10:15 am.
Efforts to repair the main were completed by the late morning of November 14th, 2021.
Monitoring of the water quality and frequent testing continue. Passive epidemiology surveillance and monitoring of potential trends related to illness in the community continues. Active/Enhanced surveillance for such trends will be conducted through working with the local health care system.
Residents affected by this Precautionary Boil Water Advisory will be notified when the Boil Water Notice has been lifted.
“Thank you to the staff and volunteers from the municipality, the fire department, and the Peninsula Family Health Team for the impressive work.” said the Medical Officer of Health for Grey Bruce, Dr. Ian Arra “Your prompt and robust response and efforts to mitigate the risk of this incident and ensure the protection of the health of the community are greatly appreciated”.
Mayor McIvor reiterated Dr. Ian Arra’s comments and continued by stating, “I want to thank the staff of OCWA who continue to monitor and provide safe drinking water to Lion’s Head. The advisory is a precautionary measure to ensure that our residents are safe.”
For more information, affected people can review the attached advisory or visit the following links on the Grey Bruce Health Unit website:
· Public Drinking Water (publichealthgreybruce.on.ca)
BWA Fact Sheet
BWA for Food Premises
BWA for Healthcare Facilities
BWA for Dental Offices
For questions please contact:
· Grey Bruce Public Health Unit: (519)-376-9420
· Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula: (519)-793-3522
· Ontario Clean Water Agency: (866)-214-6987
source: media release, GBHU
