The Town of Drumheller has issued a boil water advisory for the Town and surrounding areas, which include Newcastle, Midland, and Nacmine as of Tuesday, February 21.

This order was due to an unexpected drop in pressure earlier the same morning and is impacting areas west of the Town’s water treatment facility.

Drumheller was not the only municipality affected by the drop in pressure.

Starland County also issued a boil water advisory, and Kneehill County announced it was temporarily closing several of its bulk water fill stations. This includes the Churchill, Gamble, and Selkirk reservoirs and the hamlets of Swalwell and Torrington; the bulk fill station in the Town of Trochu, however, remains open.

During the boil water advisory, affected residents are asked not to use tap water for drinking, including making juice or preparing baby formula, or for preparing food including washing vegetables and cooking rice, and should not give tap water to pets. Any ice, drinks, or food made with tap water should not be used and should be thrown away.

Once the boil water advisory has been lifted it is recommended to turn on all taps and flush water lines for at least five minutes.

Update:

As of February 21 at 4:35 p.m. the Town of Drumheller updated the area affected by the boil water advisory. Residents in neighbourhoods south of Highway 10 from the Drumheller Municipal Cemetery west to the Hygrade Industrial area are still advised to boil their water for consumption. This includes the areas of Bankview, Huntington, and Greentree.

Second update:

As of February 23 at 12:45 p.m. the Town of Drumheller announced the boil water advisory has been lifted effective immediately.

Lacie Nairn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, DrumhellerMail.com, The Drumheller Mail