Health officials have issued a drinking water advisory following the discovery of a fuel spill in Sturgeon Lake in the City of Kawartha Lakes late last week.
According to the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, fuel odours from a culvert in the hamlet of Thurstonia, about 20 kilometres north of Linsday, Ont., were reported to Kawartha Lakes Fire and Rescue around 10:30 p.m. on March 30.
A boon was placed in Sturgeon Lake near the culvert and provincial officials were notified. On Friday, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks attended.
A source of the spill has yet to be determined.
The health unit says 30 homes that draw water from the lake are impacted. Homes along a section of Pitts Cove Road and Hazel Street to McLernon Street are also impacted.
Residents are urged to use bottled water until further notice.
“Because of the nature of the fuel spill, boiling water is not effective,” the health unit states. “Water should not be used for cooking, making juice and infant formula, washing fruits and vegetables, dishwashing or brushing teeth.”
The drinking water advisory will remain in effect until lifted by the health unit.
Cleanup continues on the spill and the health unit cautions with further melting of ice, the spill area “may be larger” than earlier determined.