The Capital Regional District and Island Health have issued a water-quality advisory for the Wilderness Mountain Water service area in East Sooke due to elevated concentrations of manganese.
The CRD is warning that infants should not consume tap water or formula made with tap water from the system, which collects its water from the Wilfred Reservoir atop Mount Matheson and provides drinking water to 73 homes.
Bottled water should be used when preparing infant formula, the CRD said.
The water-quality advisory is in addition to an existing boil-water advisory for homes in the area.
The CRD said in a statement that although manganese is a naturally occurring element in surface and groundwater, higher than normal rates can cause health issues with infants up to one year old.
“As a precaution, it is recommended to avoid drinking discoloured water, or using discoloured water to prepare food or infant formula,” the CRD said.
Health Canada has set a maximum concentration for manganese at 120 parts per billion and an aesthetic objective of 20 PPB. The current levels in the Wilderness Mountain water are 167 PPB.
The CRD said it is working on strategies to improve the water treatment at Wilderness Mountain.
The current process consists of cartridge filtration, ultraviolet disinfection and chloramine disinfection.
The chloraminated water is then pumped to two concrete storage tanks and distributed to homes in a 3,750-metre pipeline network.
