Boil water advisory set in QW region

17.jul.06
Belleville Intelligencer (ON)
Henry Bury

A single water sample taken in Trenton, Ontario, showing a "significant" amount of bacteria has led to one of the largest boil water advisories ever issued by the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit.

The advisory went into effect early Saturday evening to residents, businesses and services in the city of Quinte West - which includes Trenton East and West, Consecon, Carrying Place and Middleton Park at CFB Trenton.

Eric Serwotka, the health unit's director of environmental health, was cited as saying about 18,000 people are affected by the advisory.

Serwotka was further cited as saying affected residents have to bring water to a rapid boil for at least one minute prior to using it for such domestic purposes as drinking, making infant formula and juice, brushing teeth, washing raw foods and making ice, and that health unit officials wasted no time contacting restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes about the boil water advisory "because they have high-risk populations that could be affected."

Serwotka said two further water samples were taken at the Trenton filtration plant - one was late Saturday and the other was Sunday - and health unit officials are awaiting those results sometime Monday.

Mike Xanthos, owner of the Golden Valley Restaurant on Old Highway 2, was cited as saying staff are boiling water prior to washing salads and vegetables and waitresses are not offering ice water to patrons, adding, "If someone wants water, we will give them bottled water. We're not using our pop machine. We are giving them pop cans instead."

Cory Haggar, food and beverage manager at the Holiday Inn, said he purchased more than $300 in bottled water to hand out to guests of the 109-room hotel.