A water quality advisory has been lifted for the District of Kitimat water system. The notice was issued Jan. 29, and as of press time Feb. 2 that advisory remained in effect.
On Jan. 29 a public notice from the district urged vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, to boil water before consumption.
That advisory was lifted Feb. 6.
Such advisories are precautionary in nature when high rain or melt results in increased local stream flows. This increases water turbidity and can impact the effectiveness of water treatment.
Environment Canada data shows the water disharge of the Kitimat River on Jan. 29 spiked from approximately 320 cubic metres per second to almost 1,000 over the course of 12 hours. It slowly decreased over the past week to a current rate of about 70 cubic metres per second.
The water quality advisories are the lowest of three warnings issued by Northern Health, however it imposes a responsibility on all owners of public premises, like restaurants, to inform their patrons of this situation.