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Water and Waste Department

Boil Water Advisory Assessment Report

On April 30, 2015, the City of Winnipeg submitted an external assessment report to the Office of Drinking Water, the regulator of drinking water in Manitoba, to relay the findings and recommendations of the comprehensive, external assessment of the City of Winnipeg's water system.

The Comprehensive Assessment of the City of Winnipeg Water System as it Relates to Recent Boil Water Advisories report concludes:

  1. that the water was safe and is safe to drink,
  2. that positive samples that led to the recent precautionary boil water advisories were, according to the assessment, most likely related to either sampling or analytical processes.

Additionally, the external report found no connection between historical discoloured water events and historical bacteriological samples.

Is the report available?

On May 29, 2015, the City released the Comprehensive Assessment of the City of Winnipeg Water System as it Relates to Recent Boil Water Advisories report, available by section:

Where the report reveals information that could harm the public water supply or those that work to maintain it, that information has been redacted in accordance with subsections 24(a) and (c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

On May 1, 2015, the City released the Executive Summary for the Comprehensive Assessment of the City of Winnipeg Water System as it Relates to Recent Boil Water Advisories report.

Why was a Boil Water Advisory issued on January 27?

The provincial Medical Officer of Health issued a precautionary boil water advisory for Winnipeg's water system after water samples, taken regularly to monitor our water's safety, tested positive for the presence of bacteria.

The City retested water samples from locations that had positive results, as well as from surrounding locations. Results of these retests, received on January 28, showed the water was safe.

After a second set of retests was ordered and again confirmed the City's water was safe, the precautionary boil water advisory was lifted by the provincial Medical Officer of Health on January 29.

For more information, please see: January 27 - 29 Boil Water Advisory event

Why was this report done?

On February 3, 2015, the Manitoba Office of Drinking Water issued an order to the City to carry out an investigation of the water system, to be completed in accordance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Revised Total Coliform Rule Assessments and Corrective Actions Guidance Manual.

The City retained a consultant to undertake the investigation and to prepare a comprehensive report, which would also include two independent assessments initiated by the City that were specific to sampling and analysis procedures.

This report, the Comprehensive Assessment of the City of Winnipeg Water System as it Relates to Recent Boil Water Advisories, was completed on April 30, 2015, and forwarded to the provincial Office of Drinking Water.

Last updated: October 4, 2018

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