For 20 days, 30,000 Shawinigan residents have had to boil their water and neither the City nor Public Health can say how long the situation will last.
“At the present time, lifting the boil water advisory would represent a risk to the health of citizens” confirmed to the Newspaper Philippe Lehoux from the CIUSSS, Mauricie-et-du-Center-du-Québec. Parasites may be present in the water of Lac-à-la-Pêche and the chlorination treatment used does not eliminate them. “This opinion is very important,” he insists.
As for the City, they say they have “nothing new to mention on the subject”. In an interview at 106.9 Mauricie, yesterday, Mayor Michel Angers said he was in “negotiations” with Public Health.
Earlier in December, however, he had mentioned a 14-day deadline. Then on December 15, the City said that the tests were going “well”.
Last minute
The mayor announced on December 1 that 70% of Shawinigan residents should boil their water from the next day, for an indefinite period. The businesses had been stormed by citizens in search of drinking water.
However, the City informed the government on October 27 of its intention to close its Lac-à-la-Pêche treatment plant to return to the old chlorination system, which would result in a temporary boil water advisory.
“The drinking water treatment that was in place before January 2020 was not sufficient to prevent health risks,” explains Mr. Lehoux. It is for this reason that the new factory was built. However, it is not functioning well and has been closed.