Labatt brewing again on Leslie Street with new testing protocol in place

Labatt has started brewing beer again at its brewery on Leslie Street in St. John's after putting a new testing protocol in place, the company said Friday.

"We are testing incoming water every hour, as well ashourly tests in five different areas of the brewery," Wade Keller, who is with corporate affairs for the Atlantic region with Labatt Breweries of Canada, told CBC News.

Another city test on Leslie Street yesterday came in under the national standard for manganese, Keller said, and the intention is to begin packaging beer on Tuesday.

The company also hopes to have the results tomorrow for a batch of beer that was put aside for testing.

The new protocols will stay in place until the situation with city water is resolved, Keller said.

No new developments: Breen

Meanwhile, there are no new developments as the city continues to wrestle withthe problem of unwanted manganese build up in its water supply, Mayor Danny Breensays.

"This problem or issue is very localizedso we can'teven be sure how many houses it's affecting, but we suspect it's not that many," Breentold the St. John's Morning Show Friday.

On Wednesday the City of St. John's advised people served by thePetty Harbour-Long Pond water supply, which is most of the west end, to use an alternative source for drinking water if their tap water is discoloured.

Phone 311 for info, notifications

The city is working to get bottled water to people who are affected by the manganese buildup, Breen said, including putting a process in place today to get water to those who may not be able to get out to pick it up themselves.

People in need of alternative drinking water can phone 311, he said, as can those who are seeing discoloured water coming out of their taps.

"We encourage people who do notice discolouration in their water to contact Access St. John's to notify our staff so we can keep track of where these problems are."

They have "no idea right now" when the problem will be resolved, Breen said, and the manganese could dissipate on its own.

"We'll continue our process of addressing it so it doesn't repeat," he said.

School board providing water

Meanwhile, the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District said it's aware that seven of its schools are in the Petty Harbour water system.

The school board said in a release it will be providing bottled water for drinking to the schools until there is a resolution to the water issues, or the city has another solution.

The schools affected are:

• St. John Bosco
• Beaconsfield JuniorHigh
• St. Mary's Elementary
• Hazelwood Elementary
• Bishop Feild Elementary, at the former School for the Deaf location
• Waterford Valley High
• Cowan Heights Elementary

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