Thursday was the sixth day this week thousands of north Okanagan residents had to live with a boil water notice.
Since Saturday, residents in Vernon, Coldstream and some surrounding areas haven’t been able to drink tap water.
However, there may be some relief in sight. The Regional District of North Okanagan, which operates the local water utility, said it will be reviewing the boil water notice on Friday.
If the water meets Interior Health guidelines, “then they are hopefully going to lift the boil water notice tomorrow (Friday),” said Alastair Crick, manager of protective services at the Regional District of North Okanagan.
“If not, if the levels are still high and with this storm coming through this afternoon, they may have to extend it into next week.”
The boil water notice was triggered by higher than normal levels of turbidity. Water users are being told tap water needs to be boiled before it is used for cooking or drinking.
For some local businesses, especially food service businesses, the boil water notice has created extra costs and more work. For example, some businesses are buying water and ice to cook or make drinks with.