Melfort, Sask. under precautionary boil water advisory

The Melfort, Sask., region is the latest area to take precautions with its drinking water following last week's oil pipeline break near Maidstone.

People living in the city of Melfort, along with the nearby communities of Beatty, Kinistino, Weldon and Star City, as well as rural customers, are being asked to stop non-essential water use.

A precautionary drinking water advisory was activated Tuesday, and will continueuntil further notice.

Contaminated water may reach Codette Lake, where the area's water intake is. Leading up to the boil water advisory, officials had been preparing to shut off the intakeearly Tuesday morning.

Sask Water said it would begin drawing water from a source unaffected by the oil spill until the North Saskatchewan River is once again safe to treat.

• Prince Albert, Sask., declares state of emergency over oil spill
• 200,000litres of oil from Husky Energy pipe leaked into North Saskatchewan River, company says

However, water from that secondary source will be under a boil-water order. Any water to be consumed, used for washing dishesor food, or brushing teeth needs to be brought to a rolling boil for one minute to ensure it is safe.