Health Canada updated the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines on May 10, leaving the City of Quesnel to work with Northern Health to meet the new guidelines.
According to a press release from the city, the Maximum Acceptable Concentrations (MAC) for manganese, an essential element in humans and animals, has decreased.
Manganese occurs naturally in the environment, and is distributed over the air, in water and in soil. In appropriate doses, it is beneficial to human and animal health.
“Health Canada has been studying the effects of consuming various levels of manganese from drinking water sources,” says the release. “New information on the effects of higher concentrations of manganese has prompted the new guidelines for manganese in drinking water.
“The new MAC for manganese has been classified as 0.12 mg/litre and currently the City of Quesnel water system averages above at approximately 0.22 mg/litre in its drinking water.”
It isn’t that the City’s water system has worsened or deteriorated, clarifies the release, just that Health Canada’s guidelines have changed, will need to be adjusted to.
For now, the City is gathering information for Northern Health, the organization responsible for ensuring the City’s water system meets the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines.
There are no water advisories in the City of Quesnel.
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