Health officials issue advisory after arsenic detected in Powell River school water supply

In a release Friday, VCH said levels detected at the school were above the maximum acceptable concentration for drinking water. Routine testing of the schools’ water supply has demonstrated safe levels until now and VCH said medical officers have assessed the risk to students and staff as being very low.

Students and staff will be provided with bottled water while maintenance of the water treatment system — and a check for other chemicals and metals — takes place.VCH reminds all owners and operators of private water systems in the region that maintenance and testing for water quality and contaminants should be scheduled routinely.Article content

Arsenic is a natural element found and may be concentrated in higher amounts in groundwater supplies like drilled wells, rather than in surface water supplies such as lakes, streams and rivers. Arsenic has been commonly found in groundwater in Powell River and on the Sunshine Coast, which is why regular testing of well-water systems is necessary to ensure increased levels can be corrected long before people can consume enough drinking water for a risk to be posed to human health.

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