Water main crisis puts Prince Rupert, B.C., under boil-water notice

A boil-water notice has been issued for the entire city of Prince Rupert, B.C., after its aging water system suffered multiple breaks on Tuesday night.

Mayor Herb Pond described the situation in the city of 12,000 people as "armageddon-like," with water gushing out of the ground, washing out streets and flooding people's basements.

"The event that we feared is that we would lose water in our reservoir and that would create a vacuum that would perhaps cause kilometres of our water main to actually collapse on itself. We came within minutes of that last night," he said. 

Pond said the situation has now stabilized thanks to the work of city crews and contractors. But the city's water quality remains severely compromised. The Crestview neighbourhood near the town's Montreal Circle Reservoir suffered the brunt of the damage.

The boil-water notice says "residents and water system users must heat the water to a rapid boil for at least one minute then cool and place in a food grade storage container. This must be done in advance of consumption for brushing teeth, drinking and cooking, washing vegetables for consumption raw, and making ice."

Bathing or washing clothes with water that has not been boiled is considered safe, according to the notice.

A boil-water notice is more serious than a water-quality advisory and indicates a higher level of concern.

A boil-water notice requires boiling water for at least 60 seconds to kill organisms in the water that can make you ill.

A water-quality advisory indicates an elevated risk in consuming drinking water, especially for people with weakened immune systems, but does not require water to be boiled first and will come with specific directions, as required.

Pond said Prince Rupert's water system is 100 years old, in a state of severe decay, and routinely leaks 40 per cent of all water that passes through its pipes because there are so many cracks.

The city is in the midst of obtaining funding to start upgrades on what is expected to be around a $200-million project. Prince Rupert is seeking a loan of about $45 million and the province has already kicked in $65 million. The federal government has pledged $82 million but final approval is still pending.

"The federal government processes take time, but time is our enemy," said Pond.

"We've hit the place where there's just no more life in our pipes and so we're all hands on deck and hoping to hear very soon on the federal grant."

It's not known how long the boil-water notice will be in effect.

"That'll probably last for a few days while things settle down," said Pond. "When the water clarifies, then we'll go back to the boil-water advisory, which is the state we're going to be living in for years."