Hamilton expected to lift drinking-water advisory for Lynden residents next week

The measure was implemented in 2011, forcing people to use water filters or bottled water

Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said after nearly a decade of Hamilton public health officials enforcing a drinking-water advisory for Lynden residents, it is scheduled to be lifted Aug. 5.

“I think residents will welcome that decision after such a long time,” said Ferguson, who represents the area.

Public health officials began testing the water earlier this year after the city dug a new well and constructed a treatment plant to service the 154 households in the small rural community in Flamborough.

Officials have been collecting a year’s worth of sample data before deciding to lift the drinking-water advisory.

Public health officials didn’t formally announce the advisory would be lifted in August, but in a statement said residents should continue to “observe the drinking-water advisory as we continue to conduct tests.”

“We anticipate having an update for community members in the near future as it relates to the drinking-water advisory, and recognize the community’s patience and understanding as they await an outcome to this long-standing matter,” stated James Berry, communications officer.

Since the drinking-water advisory was implemented in the fall of 2011, residents have had to use city-provided water filters or use bottled water, said Ferguson.

It meant residents couldn’t drink their tap water, use it for meals such as soup, stew, pasta, hot cereal, baby formula or even a cup of coffee or tea.

Residents could use the water for laundry, washing fruits and vegetables, dishes, handwashing and brushing their teeth, as long as they didn’t swallow the water.

Lynden residents were told in 2011 to filter their water for lead after high concentrations of the potentially toxic metal were detected in the municipal water system.

At the time, public health officials said the discovery of lead shouldn’t pose a health risk for residents in the short term.

But in 2014 water testing found positive tests for E. coli, forcing residents to line up and receive potable water from water tanker trucks.

It sparked a boil-water advisory, and further limits to homeowners’ drinking water.

Ferguson said it took time for the city to find the correct location for a new well, and to navigate the environmental assessment to make sure the problem didn’t return in the future.

Ferguson said the new water treatment system, located in a field off Governor’s Road, about 1.7 kilometres east of Lynden, will cost about $8 million.

“This is a new well that is providing clean and safe water,” said Ferguson.