Drinking water advisory issued for airport area

Residents in one part of the city won't be able to drink their tap water.

Further information is included in the following news release issued today by the North Bay and District Health Unit:
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On behalf of Dr. Catherine Whiting, Medical Officer of Health Dr Penny Sutcliffe has issued a drinking water advisory, effective immediately, for all residents and properties of CFB North Bay and the Jack Garland Airport. Only people serviced by the municipal water system in this area are affected.

This advisory was due to a loss of system pressure. Until further notice, water from the tap should not be used for drinking, brushing teeth or washing dishes. All other residents who are on the City of North Bay water system may use water from their taps as usual.

Pressure was quickly restored and the system will be flushed over the next 24 hours. Some discolouration of the water may be noticed during this time. It is expected that normal use of water from the taps will resume within 48 hours based on laboratory testing.

Health Unit staff will continue to monitor this situation. The medical officer of health will notify the public when the drinking water advisory has been lifted.
A drinking water advisory is different from a boil water advisory.

A drinking water advisory is issued whenever there is reason to believe that a condition exists with a drinking water supply that may result in a risk to consumers that cannot be corrected by boiling the water or by disinfection. In this situation, due to the low pressure, the potential for contamination is unknown. A boil water advisory is issued when a condition exists that can be corrected by boiling the water before consuming it.

Those affected by the drinking water advisory may get water from the Fire Department at the McKeown Street site. People should take their own clean containers.