Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Jean Marie River (Sep 10/01) - A boil water order was issued last week in Jean Marie River after tests found fecal coliforms and high levels of turbidity--suspended solids-- in the water

A private citizen called the Stanton Regional Health Board after noticing the community's water was a slightly yellowish colour.

Environmental health services manager Brad Colpitts, consulted with NWT chief medical officer Andre Corriveau, and they issued the order before initial tests were even conducted.

"We knew from the visual description that there was a problem," said Brad Colpitts.

The Department of Public Works in Fort Simpson did tests the next day which confirmed the water is contaminated.

Band manager Fred Norwegien circulated a memo to the community on Aug. 30 and personally phoned elders and those who are unable to read. Fifty-three people live in Jean Marie River.

"I'm relieved that nobody got sick from the water," said Norwegien.

Jean Marie River does not have a filtering system. Water, drawn from the Jean Marie River, is chlorinated and put in a reservoir. The reservoir, which was recently filled with the contaminated water, supplies the community for a year.

"My guess is that it will need to be drained, cleaned and refilled," said Colpitts.

"Ideally, it should have been filled when the raw water did not have high levels of turbidity," he said. "A layperson could think of turbidity as dirt."

Colpitts explained that bacteria and viruses can hide in globs of organic matter making it difficult for chlorine to do its job.

"Chlorine can't be relied upon under those circumstances to disinfect the water and render it safe," said Colpitts.

Heavy rain in August may have caused the problem.

"If organic matter is flushed off the land, bacteria will be flushed along with it," said Colpitts.

"Eventually, it will find its way into surface water and you will get high turbidity and usually, unsatisfactory bacteriological samples."

According to Environment Canada's Arctic Weather Centre, 123 mm of rain fell this August in the area. The average rainfall in August is 50.7 mm.

Resident Ernest Hardisty said it rained for six days straight recently in Jean Marie River.

Hardisty isn't drinking the water. "But we never did drink that water, because it doesn't taste very good, " he said.

Hardisty drinks water from a spring along the highway or brings treated water back from Fort Simpson.

George Urban, the principal at Norwegien School, said students are presently drinking boiled water that has been run through a Brita filter.

As an interim measure, the Stanton Regional Health Board will supply bottled water to infants and toddlers.

Symptoms of an e-coli infection can include diarrhea, vomiting and fever.