Mayor Sam Katz said Wednesday afternoon a new round of tests has shown St. Vital's water is safe.
A few hours later, officials confirmed the boil water advisory had been lifted for southeast Winnipeg.
"The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has just advised the City that the precautionary Boil Water Advisory for a localized area in southeast Winnipeg has been rescinded. Residents and businesses within the area no longer need to take special precautions with tap water," said the City of Winnipeg in a release at 6 p.m.
The initial boil water advisory came after two tests found traces of E. coli bacteria in the drinking water supply Tuesday afternoon.
City officials said because of the amount of chlorine in the water that kills bacteria, the positive results likely came from a dirty tap at the sampling location, accidental contamination of a sample bottle or error during testing.
Schools, restaurants affected by boil water advisory
The Louis Riel School Division had brought in large water bottles earlier in the day at 11 schools as a precaution. The superintendent said water was being boiled in the cafeteria as needed.
Restaurants in the St. Vital area were taking precautions too and notices posted to advise customers.
McDonald's was not serving coffee or tea. Smitty's had brought in bottled water and juice, as well as coffee from other locations. Owners said those costs will add up.
Joyce Adeoti runs a day home for children in St. Vital.
“I started boiling my water immediately because I needed to make food,” she said. “You’re looking after infants. You use water to make their milk. You have to be careful.”
Questions over notification time
Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Manitoba's chief medical officer of health held a press conference.
He said his office was aware of positive test results for E. coli in drinking water in St. Vital around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The boil water advisory announcement to media was not made until 9:38 p.m. that day.
The city blamed the delay on Manitoba Health.
“Once we knew what was happening, what the province had done - and it has to be issued in writing - we then immediately sent out a press release,” said Katz.
Dr. Michael Routledge, chief provincial public health officer, said it took that long to determine a course of action, working with the city and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
"One of the first things we have to do is we have to understand what this means. It's not as simple as a result equals a reaction," he said.
But he also added the province deals with boil water situations regularly and when reports of E. coli are involved, the required action is very clear.
"So there's a Health Canada protocol for issuing boil water advisories and, basically, it says if you get more than one E. coli sample result, you issue a boil water advisory. Full stop,” he said.
Mayor Katz said he would like to see things handled in a more timely fashion in the future.
"I would say there was an honest mistake made in my opinion. That should have been done a different way and everybody should have been notified immediately," he said.
The affected region for the boil water advisory spanned from Bishop Grandin Blvd. south to the Perimeter, and between the Red River and Seine River.
The province had information on the water situation online at: www.manitoba.ca/drinkingwater.
The City of Winnipeg also posted information on its website.
Both Manitoba Health and the City of Winnipeg said positive tests for E. coli are extremely rare in Winnipeg.
- with reports from Ina Sidhu, Ben Miljure and Jeff Keele
