Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 29, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 Alaska Pink Salmon Fillet 340 g $ 5 Ahi Tuna Steak 170 g $ 4 Wild Cdn. Cooked Shrimp 227 g $ 5 Medium Sea Scallops 227 g $ 5 Large Breaded Shrimp 45 pc $ 12 Breaded Calamari Oven ready 908 g $ 10 Chimichurri Shrimp Skewers 4x5 pc $ 4 Large Lobster Tails $ 10 ea Large Snow Crab Scored Legs 454 g $ 10 Subject to availability Limited quantities Price guarantees expire Wed. 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APPLY TODAY & GET PRE- APPROVED WE DO THE THE PAPERWORK Hi- Efficiency Furnace TOP NEWS CITY EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7292 I CITY. DESK@ FREEPRESS. MB. CA I WINNIPEGFREEPRESS. COM THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015 A 3 EDITORIAL: SAFE WATER IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT / A12 A CLEAN set of samples wasn't enough to lift a boil- water advisory that has inconvenienced Winnipeg residents, businesses, schools and other institutions for the better part of two days. Since Tuesday evening, Winnipeg has been subject to a precautionary boilwater advisory ordered by the province after six of 39 city water samples collected Monday tested positive for coliform bacteria. City water engineers immediately suspected " false positive" results, based on the apparent coexistence of bacteria and chlorine in the samples as well as the fact no bacteria were found in samples collected upstream and downstream of these sites. Their suspicions appeared to be borne out when 21 additional water samples collected Tuesday morning also yielded no bacteria - and new samples of the same six problematic locations, collected Tuesday afternoon, came back clean from the lab on Wednesday. Nonetheless, Winnipeg's boil- water advisory will remain in effect until at least this afternoon, when testing of another new set of samples, collected Wednesday, will be complete. Federal health guidelines prevent provincial health officials from lifting a boil- water advisory until two sets of samples, collected 24 hours apart, are clean, said Lisa Richards, medical officer of health with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. She called Winnipeg's latest watersample results reassuring, but insisted the boil- water advisory remain in place until the next test results are known today. Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman called the latest results " an encouraging sign," even though the city was not able to lift the advisory. " Had we heard the opposite today, it would obviously point to serious questions you and I would have," said Bowman, encouraging Winnipeggers to remain calm until the ban is lifted, as expected. " Take a breath, boil some water, or buy some water." In 2013, when a boil- water advisory was issued in St. Vital, the province lifted the order after only one set of samples proved to be clean. Richards said that call was made due to the localized nature of the 2013 advisory. Geoff Patton, acting director of Winnipeg's water and waste department, said a different city employee collected the water samples that tested positive for bacteria this week. The same person collected all six problematic samples - but it's not yet clear whether sampling error, a laboratory process or some other error led to what is believed to be a " false positive" test for coliform bacteria. Once Winnipeggers get the green light to consume tap water again, the city will refocus its efforts on investigating what went wrong with the water sampling, water and waste director Diane Sacher said. Patton said it's possible the answer may never be determined, but if it is, the cause of the false positive will be made public. If the performance of the private laboratory is determined to be a cause, the city has contractual means of addressing that issue, said Michael Jack, Winnipeg's acting chief administrative officer. The city is not considering compensation for restaurants and other businesses inconvenienced by the advisory, said Bowman, noting it was issued to protect public health. " This highlights the need for all organizations to have contingency plans, the same way you would for power outages," the mayor said. Bowman cautioned against repeating rumours about Winnipeg's water, noting the absence of any reports of waterrelated illnesses in the city. " We need to be calm and responsible in the news we're getting out," he said. - with files from Aldo Santin bartley. kives@ freepress. mb. ca What are coliform bacteria? Coliform bacteria are microscopic organisms found in soil, water and in the feces of birds and mammals. While they don't all cause illnesses in people, their presence is considered an indicator of the presence of harmful pathogens such as other bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Since the presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water suggests fecal contamination, its presence may result in boil- water advisories. What about E. coli? One type of coliform bacteria, E. coli, is almost exclusively found in feces. While most strains are harmless, some can cause serious illnesses in people. That said, boil- water advisories are actually issued to prevent illness from pathogens that aren't as easily cultured in a lab. Again, the coliforms are an indicator of the presence of other bad stuff. What is the acceptable coliform count in drinking water? According to Health Canada guidelines, the maximum acceptable concentration is no detectable amount per 100 millilitres. Why wasn't the boil- water advisory lifted on Wednesday, when the coliform counts were zero? According to Health Canada, " a boil- water advisory should be rescinded only after a minimum of two consecutive sets of samples, collected 24 hours apart, show negative results that demonstrate full system- wide integrity." - Kives ' Take a breath, boil some water' JOIN THE CONVERSATION Is the act of buying bottled water a symbol Winnipeggers have lost faith in their civic government's ability to deliver even the most basic services? Go to winnipegfreepress. com and add your comments to the conversation WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Geoff Patton ( left) and Mayor Brian Bowman hold a news conference at city hall on Wednesday. Advisory remains in effect, despite clean samples By Bartley Kives No power on top of water woes ABOUT 9,000 Manitoba Hydro customers, already told not to drink their tap water, were without power for a few hours Wednesday night. They included customers in West Kildonan, Garden City and East Kildonan. Power was restored to about 5,000 of them around 8: 30 p. m. Wednesday but another 4,000 weren't expecting to get their power back on until after midnight. " We were trying to boil water when the power when out. Now it's just kind of stuck there," said Christina Hryniuk, a creative communications student from Red River College who lives in West Kildonan. She was working on an assignment that is due at 8 a. m. " Working on my article on city council's meeting today and a power outage occurs. Thanks Universe," Hryniuk posted on Twitter. Jon Adaskin said he and his family were making the best of the situation. " We've got some flashlights lit up around the house and we're playing games on the floor. It's kind of a nice family night," he said of his wife, Amanda, their five- year- old daughter and one- year- old son. Adaskin said they had already boiled enough water for their son's bottles. " A Manitoba Hydro spokesman said Hydro and fire crews were attending to a " pole- top fire" on a hydro pole at Kingsbury Avenue and McPhillips Street that occurred about 6: 40 p. m. " There was an arc on our equipment on a wood pole which caught the pole on fire," the spokesman said. " Unfortunately, it's not that uncommon in this kind of weather when you get a drizzly sort of rain. It mixes with accumulated road salt and dirt that gets on our equipment and creates a path for the electricity to travel over insulators. When that gets dirty, it can, in some situations, cause a bit of an arc and catch on fire." He said crews were anticipating restoring the power later Wednesday night by switching to create alternate feeds for power in the affected areas. A_ 03_ Jan- 29- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A3 1/ 28/ 15 10: 56: 40 PM ;