Residents at about 25 properties between Bridesville and Rock Creek are being warned not to use their water due to potential contamination from a clandestine drug lab. Interior Health says this is a precautionary measure until testing is done and the risk is low. (Richard McGuire photo)
Some residents of the Bridesville area are being warned not to drink their water as a result of potential contamination by an illicit drug lab.
Interior Health (IH) has issued a “do-not-use” order for water in the three-kilometre radius from the intersection of Sanders Road and Johnstone Creek Road West between Bridesville and Rock Creek.
The order was issued after RCMP notified IH that the clandestine drug lab had been depositing solvent and other hazardous materals onto the soil of a property in the area, possibly contaminating the water table.
“Although the risk of exposure to the materials and potential health impacts are considered low, Interior Health has issued this warning as a precautionary measure until further investigation and water testing of the affected area is completed,” IH says in a news release issued Thursday.
IH has been contacting residents of about 25 properties in the impacted area directly.
There is no risk for water users drawing from aquifers, deep wells or to water users downstream along the Kettle River, IH says. The communities of Bridesville, Rock Creek and Midway are not impacted.
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