Health officials warn about contaminated flood waters

TORONTO – Public health officials in Toronto are warning against coming too close to some of the flood water which ravaged the city over the last 48 hours.

Monday’s unprecedented storm brought 126 mm of rainfall to Toronto causing many sewers to overflow and flood streets and basements.

But a lot of that water could be contaminated.

“The health concern is that you don’t know where that water has come from or what it’s contaminated with,” Wolf Saxor, a manager at Toronto Public Health said. “The concern right now is that its sewage and it’s contaminated with feces. Bacteria that could make you sick.”

Saxor warns that much of the water could be contaminated with salmonella, wild animal waste and parasites.