Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) staff were walking door-to-door in Langdale Wednesday issuing a boil water advisory after discovering raccoons in the reservoir were possibly contaminating the water with E. coli.
Staff, who at first suspected vandals had broken through the wooden reservoir and contaminated the water, immediately contacted Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), B.C. Ferries, the Sunshine Coast RCMP, Langdale Elementary School, day cares and Langdale residents.
As a result, the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay ferry stopped serving food and Langdale Elementary almost shut down for the day.
Two SCRD staff members were at the Langdale reservoir site Wednesday morning when they discovered a hole at the top and saw deposits in the water, which looked contaminated, according to SCRD infrastructure manager Steve Lee.
Later that morning, they found six or seven raccoons sitting on a platform inside, according to Dave Crosby, SCRD operations co-ordinator. Staff don't visit the reservoir site daily or weekly, but the last water sample taken five days earlier did not show fecal bacteria, Crosby said. It is not known how long the raccoons were in the reservoir.
Once discovered, the SCRD shut off the water system, drained then chlorinated the reservoir and flushed the water main grid throughout Wednesday and Thursday, Crosby said. The raccoons left the tank on their own accord once people were showing up.
By Wednesday afternoon, water was flowing again with the boil advisory. The VCH advisory stated, "SCRD staff discovered this morning that raccoons have accessed the water supply reservoir servicing the Langdale water system and the water may have been contaminated. Fecal contamination is suspected at this time."
VCH staff took a water sample before it was drained to test for E. coli and fecal coliform contamination, which could cause gastrointestinal illness, according to VCH drinking water officer Tim Adams. The test results were to be back from the lab Thursday. Then he would re-sample the water Thursday once the system was flushed out. The second results would be back today (Friday), he said. The results of the tests were not known as Coast Reporter went to press Thursday night. Crosby said SCRD staff would go door-to-door again Friday or Saturday once the advisory is lifted.
Adams said symptoms could show up in three to 10 days and is advising people to see a doctor if experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms.
The water system supplies Langdale Elementary.
According to superintendent of schools Stewart Hercus, at first they were contemplating closing the school because they didn't know how serious the contamination could be. But the school remained open after getting the OK from VCH, he said. The students were supplied with bottled water and hand sanitizers Wednesday and Thursday.
As well, plastic bags were taped over all the water sources to make sure students didn't use the water, said principal Rob Paish. Paish sent a letter home to parents explaining what had happened.
The water was also cut off to the Langdale ferry terminal and the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay ferry Wednesday. The terminal director was alerted at about 10 a.m. then contacted the ferry, according to spokesperson Deborah Marshall.
B.C. Ferries brought in portable toilets and hand sanitizers to the terminal, and the ferry toilets were operating with saltwater. Food service was limited because they couldn't use water to sanitize dishes. Staff were making coffee and tea with bottled water.
On Wednesday afternoon, B.C. Ferries was in the process of flushing out the water in their tanks, she said. The ferry normally gets its water from the Langdale supply, but in this case it was then to pick up water from Horseshoe Bay, she said.
She expected the water system on the ferry to be back to normal Friday afternoon. Marshall commended the SCRD for taking immediate precautions once the problem was discovered.
