Boil water advisory lifted; state of emergency remains.
The week-long boil water advisory has been lifted however the state of emergency still remains until Prince Edward County officials are confident contamination in Picton Bay no longer poses a threat to the drinking water system.
On Thursday, Mayor Robert Quaiff and members of the Emergency Control Group updated residents on the ongoing water situation on the Picton Bay.
The water treatment plant started up again Wednesday and moments prior to Thursday’s press conference, the Hastings Prince Edward Health Unit lifted the week-long boil water advisory affecting Picton and Bloomfield residents.
Prince Edward County has confirmed that water being produced by the Picton Drinking Water Plant and water presently in the Picton/Bloomfield Distribution System meets all Provincial Water Quality Standards.
Thanking residents and businesses for their patience throughout the week-long ordeal, Mayor Quaiff said they are waiting for further water tests on the Picton Bay before lifting the water emergency.
Quaiff added they anticipate those results will made available early next week.
Mayor Quaiff again thanked neighbouring municipalities along with provincial and federal levels of government for coming to the County’s aid by offering water and completing water testing too.
He praised staff who have been working overtime along with water haulers who stepped up and have been transporting water all week to Picton.
CAO James Hepburn said it’s still too early to reveal the details of Wednesday’s talks with legal counsel but the public will be made aware of any litigation process.

Ridgewood Water groundwater source tests positive for E. coli.
RIDGEWOOD – Ridgewood Water was expected to issue results of new tests Friday, two days after a water sample tested positive for E. coli and led to a boil-water advisory for much of the village and nearby towns.
Customers were not in any danger from using tap water, officials said Thursday morning at a news conference called after the utility notified residents and businesses in affected areas that a groundwater sample had tested positive for E. coli.
"The drinking water warning and boil advisory is an excess of caution," said Ridgewood Water Director of Operations Rich Calbi.
Schools in Ridgewood and Glen Rock were having students bring in bottled water on Thursday and Friday.
Samples of water piped to customers have not tested positive for any bacteria or fecal contamination.
Ridgewood Water received the test results on Wednesday and a notification went out to customers in the affected low-pressure zone, which includes all of Glen Rock and portions of Ridgewood and Wyckoff.
The Valley Hospital is within the affected area of Ridgewood.
Because word of the notification spread quickly, especially on social media, Ridgewood Mayor Susan Knudsen addressed the bewilderment on the part of some residents that they were not told about the contamination, since the alert to boil water went only to those in the affected areas.
Packer said he is hopeful the contamination was a one-off occurrence, but at this time is just looking forward to hearing positive news from Ridgewood Water on Friday.

Public health officials in Prince Edward County have lifted a boil-water advisory issued after fuel spilled from a partially submerged barge and was detected in a sampling line at the Picton-Bloomfield drinking water plant. Water being produced by the plant now “meets all provincial water quality standards,” the county said Thursday afternoon in a media release. The advisory was issued March 30 by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health after contaminants leaking from the barge were detected near…

Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice: • Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled.
Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
• If tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
KDHE officials issued the advisory because of standpipe maintenance resulting in a loss of pressure in the system.
Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice: • Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water.
• Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
• Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled.
Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.

Please install the latest Adobe Flash Player Plugin to watch this content.
RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Three New Jersey towns are under a boil water advisory after traces of fecal E. coli was found in a groundwater sample during a routine test.
Ridgewood Water issued the advisory for portions of Ridgewood, Wyckoff and all of Glen Rock.
The advisory comes after a sample earlier this week from a raw groundwater source tested positive for E. coli before any treatment, the company said.
Ridgewood Water said boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, cooking, ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and any other food preparation until further notice.
It said water should boil for one minute and allowed to cool before using.
Parents have also been notified.
So far, no cases of illness have been reported, CBS2’s Magdalena Doris reported.
It also noted that water coming from the source is disinfected before being distributed to customers and said no distribution system samples have tested positive for fecal indicators or any other bacteria.
For more information, please contact Ridgewood Water at 201-670-5520.

Boil water advisory affects Sunchild First Nation’s public buildings.
A school is one of three public buildings on Sunchild First Nation that remains affected by a boil water advisory issued last week.
Alice Peters, Sunchild First Nations band manager and health director, said on Wednesday that three public buildings — Sunchild School, the band office and health centre — are still affected, as well as seven homes.
School principal David Malthouse said they do have water for the toilets and there is drinkable water in coolers.
Peters said the boil water advisory was issued March 28, when there was a break in the main water line, resulting in two 10,000-gallon reservoir tanks depressurizing and no water service for awhile.
About 40 to 50 homes and the public buildings were affected at first.
On Wednesday they were still trying to locate a break in the part of the line that affects the seven homes and public buildings.
Until that is done, all homes that use the water system will remain under the advisory.
The reserve has about 160 homes but not all are connected to the water system.
Many have their own wells.

Water advisory expected to be lifted.
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY – People in the Picton and Bloomfield areas might be able to drink water from their taps as early as today (Thursday) as tests continue to show no contamination of the drinking water system following the sinking of a barge in Picton Bay on March 24.
At Wednesday morning’s daily press conference of the municipality’s Emergency Control Group, acting mayor Barry Turpin said the boil-water advisory could soon be lifted.
“Although the plant has been restarted, it is not yet reconnected to the Picton-Bloomfield distribution water system (and) we are in discussions with the Ministry of the Environment over our plans to reconnect the distribution system to the plant,” he said.
“Until we receive the Ministry of Environment’s acceptance, we cannot reconnect the plant to the distribution system, (but) we anticipate their acceptance by end of day and water will be directed to the distribution system soon thereafter.
This means that the boil-water advisory, while still in effect, could be lifted sometime tomorrow.” Turpin said he expects a Thursday afternoon press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. will signal the end of the boil-water advisory.
“We’ve had no indication of anything being stirred up and we have better turbidity measurements today which is an indication of suspended matter in the water,” he said.
“The bay is turned over and flushing itself seasonably as it does and we have no indication of anything in the water aside from the release from the barge.” CAO James Hepburn said the arduous task of sifting through the financial aspects of the disaster will start soon and will likely include court action.
“I will be meeting with our lawyers later today to discuss (the process) and, obviously, we will be making claims against various people responsible for this,” he said.
“We also have to determine if we will be applying for emergency funding through the provincial government or not.”

Boil-water advisory issued for Cameron.
The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities on Thursday issued a boil water advisory for water customers in the Cameron area.
The advisory is in place for customers along First Street in Cameron including Old Orangeburg Road from Highway 33 to Second Street, Highway 33 from First Street to Second Street and Second Street from Highway 33 to Orange Street in Calhoun County.
DPU advises as a precautionary measure for customers to vigorously boil their water for at least one full minute prior to cooking or drinking with it.
Any water customers in the vicinity of the affected area who have lost water and/or water pressure are also advised to vigorously boil their water for at least one full minute prior to cooking or drinking.
The Water Division has experienced a six-inch water main break in this vicinity.
The advisory is in effect until further notice from DPU.
Should you have any questions pertaining to this advisory, call the Water Division at 803-268-4404 or if after hours, 803-268-4000.

Officials in Prince Edward County are optimistic the Boil Water Advisory may be lifted as early as tomorrow. Results of recent tests at the Picton/Bloomfield Water Treatment Plant have been encouraging but until the plant is fully operational and reconnected to the distribution system the boil water advisory remains in effect. As of last reports, reservoirs…

Cameron boil water advisory.
The Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities has issued a boil water advisory for water customers in the Cameron area.
The advisory is in place for customers along First Street in Cameron including Old Orangeburg Road from the Highway 33 to Second Street, Hwy 33 from First Street to Second Street and Second Street from the Hwy 33 to Orange Street in Calhoun County.
DPU advises as a precautionary measure for customers to vigorously boil their water for at least one full minute prior to cooking or drinking.
Also, any water customers in the vicinity of the affected area who have lost water and/or water pressure are also advised to vigorously boil their water for at least one full minute prior to cooking or drinking.
The Water Division has experienced a six inch water main break in this vicinity.
The advisory is in effect until further notice from DPU.
The DPU Water Division is presently working to correct the problem.
Should you have any questions pertaining to this advisory, please call the Water Division at (803) 268-4404 or if after hours (803) 268-4000.