Saint John water faces increased cloudiness due to weather

The City of Saint John is warning residentsthere is still a higher than usual risk of turbidity, or cloudiness, in the drinking water and with harsh weather moving in, there is a possibility of a boil order being issued.

The water levels in the Loch Lomond lakes are all at unusually low levelsand there is a risk of heavy rain and wind over the weekend.

Saint John Water deputy commissioner Kendall Mason said the heavy rain could create problems for the lakes that supply more than half the city with drinking water.

"When the heavy rains hit the shorelines, that washes the soil or material into the water and increases the turbidity levels," he said."And that's really the biggest fear with the heavy rain."

Turbidity can't be seen

Mason saysthe naked eye cannot see an increase in turbidity, but that doesn't mean it's not causing problems in the water system.

"The difference between 1 NTU [an accepted measure of turbidity], or turbidity on a normal day, and the turbidity that would cause a boil order, is not noticeable to the eye."

A high level of turbidity in the water is caused by sediment in the water system. Thataffects the safety of drinking water by making the water system less effective, he said.

"We use chlorine to disinfect our water, so with increased turbidity, the chlorination process is ineffective in ensuring the water is safe to drink."

Possibility of boil order

Mason said there is a possibility of a boil order in the areas east of Reversing Falls, something which last happened in May.

At that time, a power outage caused a malfunction in the chlorination system which meant that viruses and bacteria were more likely to make it into the drinking water system intact.

Approximately 45,000 users were affected, or about 60 per cent of the customer base of Saint John Water.

• Boil water order issued for 45,000 users in Saint John
• Boil water order issued for Saint John's east side

"The lack of low chlorine means that there may be bacteria in the water that can cause illness in humans," stated a news release from the City of Saint John.

"These organisms can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems."

There have been four boil orders in the Saint John since the beginning of 2016.

The city said that number will decrease significantly when the Safe Clean Drinking Water project is finally complete in three to four years, and the system will be better set up to deal with low water levels and turbidity in the water.

They also say that if anyone has concerns, they can sign up for boil order alerts on the City of Saint John's website