Murky Water: Sask. settlement under water advisory for nearly 18 years

There are people who are almost 18 years old who have never lived in a world where Uranium City hasn’t been under a precautionary drinking water advisory.

In Part One of Murky Water, we talked about the widespread problem of long-term precautionary drinking water advisories. Nearly 20 Saskatchewan communities have had to boil their drinking water for years, and they don’t have the money to fix it.

The Saskatchewan northern settlement, Uranium City, is the community with the longest-running precautionary drinking water advisory in the province. The advisory started in late 2001.

By now, many people there are used to it. Mayor Dean Classen said most just drink from the taps, but they’re taking a risk with their health every time, according to the Water Security Agency.

Classen said the situation is frustrating. People have tried different things over the years; right now there’s a bottle fill station in town, but he said no one uses it.

He said the advisory in Uranium City was issued because regulations were tightened after an outbreak in North Battleford in 2001, when parasites in the water sickened about half of the 14,000 people in the city.

Classen said the province promised money at the time to help towns get up to code.

According to the provincial government, Uranium City received about $695,000 for drinking water projects between 2002 and 2009. However, the community is still under the advisory, along with a more recent boil-water order.

“Honestly, to meet provincial and federal standards, somebody has to pump a couple million dollars into the water treatment plant here,” said Classen.

The community can’t pay for that itself. Classen said there are other things which need to be paid for first, like repairs to water and sewer lines, and after that there’s no money left to save.

“We’re the same as all other communities in the province,” the mayor said. “There is financial restrictions on most communities and it’s a priority where the funding goes.”

The federal and provincial governments have run grant programs, and Classen said the northern settlement has applied, but the $2 million needed is more than those grants will give.

At this point, Classen seemed resigned to the advisory staying in place, not expecting things to change any time soon.

“You can dream,” he said.

The question of these advisories and what’s to be done about them will be brought to the provincial government in Part Three of Murky Water, airing Wednesday.