Length of boil water advisory for Happy Valley-Goose Bay is 'up to Mother Nature'

A torrential downpour in Labrador last week meant more sand and silt running into Spring Gulch, which supplies water to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and prompted a boil water advisory that remains in effect Monday.

On Saturday, 5 Wing Goose Bay, which monitors the Spring Gulch water supply, advised residents that their water needed to be boiled before being consumed.

Just any time you're going to drink it or put it in your body, it's a good idea to boil it- Capt. Trevor Ackland

"It was elevated due to the high rains. There's a lot of silt and sand in the area and in the groundwater, so as it's running in to Spring Gulch it just caused the water to get cloudy," says based spokesperson Capt. Trevor Ackland.

"We decided to err on the side of safety and just put the boil advisory on."

Turbidity levels monitor the cloudiness of water, and Ackland said those tests are done daily.

Until those results show levels that are acceptable and safe to drink, the advisory will remain in effect, he added.

"Spring Gulch is such an excellent source of water that once the turbidity levels are down we're going to continue to monitor and process the water the way we've been doing in the past and then things should go down to normal."

Ackland said other than waiting, there isn't much that can be done to change turbidity levels in water.

"We're expecting rain in the forecast, but it's not going to be the torrential downpours we experienced last week, and that will be helpful to the runoff water that's feeding into Spring Gulch," he told CBC's Labrador Morning.

"It's all up to Mother Nature at this point."

Since every Happy Valley-Goose Bay resident gets at least some water from the Spring Gulch supply, Ackland said it's best to just keep it out of your digestive system until you hear otherwise.

"Just any time you're going to drink it or put it in your body, it's a good idea to boil it," he said.

"If you're just going about your normal daily business like just having a shower it's OK, the soap will take care of anything else."

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