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Drinking water in Hay River and surrounding communities is safe to drink again without precautionary measures, the NWT’s chief environmental health officer says.
At the start of November, residents of Hay River, Enterprise, Kátł’odeeche First Nation and Kakisa were warned that elevated levels of chemicals known as trihalomethanes, or THMs, had been detected in the communities’ water.
High levels of THMs can come when chlorine – used to disinfect drinking water – reacts with organic material such as decaying plants and algae that you might normally find in lakewater.
November’s advisory noted that while no related illnesses have been reported, guidance was being published “out of an abundance of caution” as exposure to high levels of THMs over a lifetime – the time frame of 70 years was given – may increase the risk of cancer.
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Over subsequent weeks, THM levels in the water dipped back down below the Health Canada guideline maximum of 100 micrograms per litre, but the advisory remained in place as it is based on an average level over time.
That average is now back in the safe zone.
“The current annual running average has come below 100 µg/L. The drinking water now meets the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. Normal use of drinking water may resume,” the GNWT stated on Tuesday evening.
“The Environmental Health Unit will continue to monitor results from the Town of Hay River Water Treatment Plant.”
