Mayor Brian Bowman and his staff appeared in front of media Wednesday afternoon with some good news and more caution.
"The precautionary boil water advisory is still in effect. That being said, I'm pleased to advise that the testing we conducted over the last 24 hours has come back negative," said Bowman.
He and his staff say they had hoped to be able to lift the boil water advisory by now, but the final decision rests with the province.
Before it gives the all clear, another round of testing needs to be done at the six city sites that showed low levels of contamination earlier in the week.
Geoff Patton, the City’s Acting Director of Water and Waste Department said, "There has to be a second set of resampling at those 6 locations and that has to be conducted with a separation of 24 hours."
Water expert Rick Holley from the University of Manitoba said he understands why the advisory was issued but says the city will now have to reassure Winnipeggers that this was an isolated incident and Winnipeg's water is safe.
"There has to be a very good reason for dismissing it as a false positive. You don't throw away a result simply because you don't like it and test again and if it comes back with the result you like you keep that one and get rid of the first one. That doesn't work," said Holley.
If the results do come back negative again, the city said they may be able to lift the advisory by Thursday afternoon.
The city also says there is an ongoing investigation on how six city sites had false positives in the first place.
"All the indications were is that there was some sort of error that resulted in either in the sampling methodology or in the testing," said Patton.
He said there are at least two testers with the city who collect samples.
It was one of those two who came back with the false positives.
Businesses and residents are being told that tap water is safe for bathing and laundry, but are advised to boil it for at least a minute before being consumed.
Initially the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority issued the advisory Tuesday for the area of the city east of the Red River. While five of the six positive tests were east of the river, one was in the city's southwest which led the city to expand its warning.
Hospital surgeries and other services went on as usual Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority says no water-related illnesses have been reported.
Common symptoms with waterborne infection include gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. People with bloody diarrhea and dehydration should seek medical attention.
"Our medical and surgical procedures do not use tap water, so there's no risk to our patients there," said Helen Clark, chief operating officer of emergency response with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
All Winnipeg public schools were open Wednesday, but water fountains turned off.
Parents are advised to send bottled or boiled water with their children, said Brian O’Leary, superintendent of Seven Oaks School Division and chair of the Metro Winnipeg Superintendents.
The city said citizens should use bottled water or tap water that has boiled for at least one minute, before it cools, for:
• drinking and making ice
• preparing beverages, including infant formula
• preparing food
• brushing teeth
Mayor Bowman thanked Winnipeggers on their response to the boil-water advisory.
- with a report from Sheila North Wilson and files from Ben Miljure, Jeff Keele and The Canadian Press
