  
Asvisory of the Day
2017/12/13
WHITBOURNE, NL: E-COLI SCARE IN NFLD'S FIRST INLAND TOWN
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A Boil Water Advisory has been in place for the town of Whitbourne, Newfoundland since Friday, December 8 as a result of a positive test for E.Coli bacteria in the water supply.
According to Whitbourne's Town Clerk, Crystal Peddle, initial suspicions for the contamination surround some recent upgrades performed on the town's water supply system.
I do know that the town has being doing upgrades on our chlorination system," Peddle said, "We had to empty our water tower and fill it back up and we're wondering if chlorine was unequally distributed around the town."
Peddle said that a representative from the regional department of health agrees that the upgrade is most likely the culprit.
While the provincial boil water advisory listing show the system as servicing 797 residents, Peddle says that the number is significantly lower, around three to four hundred, as many people in town rely upon their own wells for their water supply.
The department of health representative is expected to be testing the supply around town today and results should back within a day or two.
Peddle is expecting for the advisory to be over before the end of the week.
To inform the population, the town's office has been using all options available.
"We've had an announcement on the radio station, the town website as well as the Facebook page and are using community channels to get the word out," she said, "We're making sure everyone's boiling their water."
Whitbourne is located just off the Trans-Canada Highway on Route 81. According to their web page, they are Newfoundland's first inland town which differs from the majority of the provincial settlements, which occurred along the coast.
It was founded in 1880 while the provincial railway was being built. The railway was a major economic contributor until shutting down in the late 1980s.
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