The boil-water advisories for both Watson Lake and Burwash Landing have been lifted.
The two communities were placed under the precautionary warning last week because of two unrelated incidents.
In Watson Lake, work crews were digging across Liard Avenue in preparation for new sewer lines. The water main was hit, causing water to gush out. The main was then turned off completely. There was minimal concern that the main may have been contaminated by dirt and soil, so the community was advised to boil water for cooking, dishwashing and brushing teeth.
Water samples collected on Sept. 18 and 19 came back clear, said Pat Living, with Health and Social Services on Friday. “Based on these test results and discussions with the owner/operator of the drinking water system, Town of Watson Lake, Environmental Health Services is satisfied that the appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that the water provided by the distribution system is safe and the boil water system (sic) issued on Sept. 17 has been rescinded.”
In Burwash Landing, routine water sampling showed traces of E. coli in one of the community’s water delivery trucks.
The truck was immediately emptied and cleaned. Water samples came back clean late last week, said Living.
While there is no way to determine what may have caused the bacteria, any time something like this happens, a full review from the source, to the truck, to people’s homes, gets done, she added.
Residents in both communities are no longer being advised to boil their water before use.