N.B. residents advised to boil their drinking water

Residents in North Battleford are being advised to boil tap water before consuming it.

The Water Security Agency has issued a Precautionary Drinking Water Advisory for the entire city of North Battleford. The advisory issued Wednesday, July 6 cites a valve failure during cleaning and maintenance operations underway at the water tower. City manager Jim Puffalt said some of the treated water from the tower got into the system, but he couldn’t say how much.

“The divers go in and they chlorinate themselves and their equipment,” Puffalt said. “It was treated water that came into the system but it had been stirred up, I suppose.” He added he was awaiting more details on the reason for the advisory.

Puffalt said this was a different scenario from when an advisory was issued in 2015 where water bypassed a step in the treatment process.