The Town of Ladysmith remains under a boil water advisory.
The municipality sent out a press release just after 6:30 p.m. Thursday, saying that the advisory is in effect “due to elevated levels of turbidity (particles) in the town’s water supply system.”
In a subsequent release Friday, the Town said that the advisory was caused by an unintended release of water from a source called Chicken Ladder into the municipal reservoir. At this time of year, turbidity from the Chicken Ladder source is higher than Island Health guidelines.
The standard measurement for turbidity in water is a Nephelometric Turbidity Unit or NTU. A former Island Health standard for acceptable turbidity levels was five NTUS, however the acceptable level is now one NTU. The source water in Chick ladder was above one NTU, but less than two NTUs at the time of the release.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the release. The Town is testing the water and all water mains are being flushed.
All residents and businesses must boil their drinking water until further notice, the advisory states. The town says water should be disinfected by boiling it vigorously for one minute.
“The boil water advisory will be lifted when testing shows that the Town of Ladysmith water supply meets all standards for safe consumption,” the release notes.
The advisory applies to the Town of Ladysmith, the Stz’uminus First Nation and the Diamond.
The town will provide updates at www.ladysmith.ca and on its social media channels. For more information on boil water advisories, please visit www.islandhealth.ca/boilwater.
