CRD and Island Health issue boil water advisory for region of East Sooke

The Capital Regional District (CRD) and Island Health have issued a boil water advisory for the Wilderness Mountain Water System in East Sooke. 

It is advised that all residents in the impacted region boil their drinking water before consuming it. 

According to the CRD, water quality may have been compromised due to high turbidity water coming from the Wilfred Reservoir—the region’s water source.  

This means that there are high levels of suspended solids such as clay, silt, organic matter or microorganisms. These contaminants make the water appear cloudy, murky or opaque. 

Because of the contaminants, the boil water advisory has been issued to all impacted residents and will be in effect until the treated water turbidity is within acceptable levels.

The CRD says that it is important to boil any water used for drinking, food preparation, ice cubes and dental hygiene until the advisory is lifted.  

Best practices for boiling household tap water is to boil vigorously for one minute.

The advisory will only be lifted when Island Heath is satisfied that the drinking water is no longer hazardous, at which point they will issue an “ALL CLEAR” notice.

Impacted customers will be notified when the advisory has been lifted.

The Wilderness Mountain Water System and the Wilfred Reservoir are frequently impacted by high turbidity water in the spring, summer and early fall, but the CRD and Island Health work together to monitor the water, issuing advisories such as this one when necessary. 

For updates on this boil water advisory and other CRD alerts, click here.