City of Mission issues boil water advisory
MISSION — The City of Mission has issued an urgent boil water advisory for the Ruskin Water System northwest of the municipality, west of Hayward Lake.
In a statement from the municipality, the City of Mission says the advisory went into effect Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 23) due to elevated turbidity levels in the source water, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the local treatment system. It’s not known exactly how many residents are affected by the advisory.
Turbidity is defined as a measurement of how cloudy the water is within a lake or river, according to the Government of Northwest Territories. Elevated levels of turbidity can be attributed to silt, mud, algae, plant pieces, melting glaciers, sawdust, wood ashes or chemicals in the water.
The City of Mission says it has activated its Emergency Operations Centre to coordinate the response in Ruskin, adding that the Ruskin Water System contains elevated turbidity levels in excess of 5 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit) according to sample results dated Wednesday, October 23, 2024. The Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality recommends that customers be notified if the turbidity is more than 1 NTU in the drinking water.