Châteauguay Valley boil water advisory to last at least another 24 hours

Authorities in Châteauguay are asking residents of six different South Shore municipalities to continue to boil their water for at least another 48 hours, because tests still show a high level of contamination.

The boil water advisory has been in place since Wednesday and covers about 70,000 people in Châteauguay, Mercier and Sainte-Martine, as well as residents of parts of Léry, Saint-Isidore and Saint-Urbain.

Châteauguay Mayor Nathalie Simon said there are no longer traces of E. coli or fecal coliforms, but that the amount of contaminants still in the water does not conform with rules set out by Quebec's Ministry of Environment.

She added that the municipality tested 40 or so samples, and all gave negative results apart from one that came from a sector of the city near a pumping station.

Authorities said that they expect to have the next batch of tests results sometime on Sunday.

According to Simon, the cause of the contamination was a pipe that burst under St-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard. The work on the pipe was completed one week ago, and at that time, a water sample for the area was sent to the lab.

The results showed elevated levels of fecal coliforms or E. coli bacteria in an aqueduct that serves several municipalities.

The high level of those bacteria signals that there could be other micro-organisms in the water which cause diarrhea, vomiting and stomach aches.

On Thursday, Simon called the boil water advisory a notice, adding that the municipalities have been continuously testing and analyzing the results.

Once the advisory is lifted, the information will be disseminated by:

• Automated calls.
• The city's website.
• The city's accounts on social networks.
• The electronic sign at the entrance of the city. 

Other South Shore municipalities also under boil water order

Four other communities on the South Shore are also under a boil water order, which is unrelated to the burst pipe in Châteauguay.

People living in Brossard, Saint-Lambert, Greenfield Park and LeMoyne were advised on Thursday not to drink tap water for at least 48 hours after lab tests showed fecal coliforms in the water system.

• Boil water notice issued for 4 more South Shore communities

The boil water notice, which affects about 130,000 people, advises residents not to drink tap water without boiling it for at least one minute.

Residents can safely wash their clothes and dishes with the water, provided dishes are thoroughly dried, and parents are encouraged to wash children's faces with face cloths to avoid getting water in their mouths.

At this point, it's unclear how long the boil water advisory will last.