A boil water advisory for the city of Fort Saskatchewan continued into Sunday.
The advisory was issued Saturday after a reservoir failure left the city of nearly 20,000 people without water for an hour.
The failure created an opportunity for a contaminant to enter into the system, though the city says there is no indication of the water being contaminated.
As a safety precaution, Alberta Health Services issued the advisory until water samples could be tested.
First results of the test are expected by 5 p.m. Sunday.
At that time city officials will indicate whether the advisory has been lifted or if it continues.
Residents are asked to check the city's Twitter account, the update line at 1-866-653-9959 and the city's website www.fortsask.ca, for updates at that time.
In a release, Mayor Gale Katchur explained why the city's siren system was not used to notify residents of the advisory.
"The siren is only used when a shelter in place emergency occurs. If we use it for everything, it will not be effective when we need it for a shelter in place emergency, which this clearly was not," Katchur said.
Residents are reminded to boil water for at least one minute prior to doing any of the following:
- Drinking
- Brushing teeth
- Cleaning raw foods
- Preparing infant formulas or juices
- Making ice
Water used for bathing or washing clothes does not need to be boiled.
Grant Schaffer, the city of Fort Saskatchewan's public works director, said a failure in the control panels caused a loss of power in the reservoir, shutting down the electric pumps.
