The English School District will supply bottled water to seven schools in the west end of St. John’s as concerns over manganese continue.
In a statement, the school district says St. John Bosco, Beaconsfield Junior High, St. Mary’s Elementary, Hazelwood Elementary, Waterford Valley High, Cowan Heights Elementary and Bishop Feild Elementary operating out of Newfoundland School for the Deaf will receive bottled water when school reopens in the near future.
“The district will be providing bottled water for consumption to the impacted schools until the situation is rectified, or the city determines another solution,” read the statement from the district.
There remains no word from the city on when the increased manganese levels in the water supply from Petty Harbour Long Pond will be lowered.
Manganese exposure is more likely to affect infants than adult populations, but only with regular exposure over months or years. All the same, the school district decided to take the precaution to avoid exposing children to the metal.
Health Canada’s primary recommendation on increased levels of manganese is to use an alternate water source to mix baby formula with.
Labatt Brewery announced on Wednesday it would halt beer production until tests can be done to ensure manganese levels are not high in its products. Test results are expected back as soon as Friday.
The city has opened four water stations for affected residents to get clean water: the city depot at 25 Blackler Ave., the Jensen Camp pump station at 85 Jensen Camp Rd., the Kenmount Road pump station at 525 Blackmarsh Rd. and the Riverhead wastewater treatment plant at 209 Southside Rd.
Those stations will be manned 24/7 until the manganese contamination is dealt with.
A fact sheet distributed by the city says boiling the water will not reduce manganese levels.
While most often the water will run brown with a higher level of manganese, clear water can still carry increased levels. Running the water until it is clear is about all that can be done, in the meantime.
The city says the manganese issue is not related to the “musty water” situation in July, when residents were advised to add lemon to their water to mask an unpleasant but otherwise not harmful taste.
The city recommends residents use alternate water sources until it is satisfied the problem has been resolved.
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