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City errs in posting boil-water advisory for Abbotsford and Mission

‘Draft weblink’ mistakenly goes live on city website Thursday night
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A boil-water advisory was mistakenly posted to the City of Abbotsford website on Thursday night. No such advisory exists at this time. (Black Press file photo)

An advisory that the water in Abbotsford and Mission wasn’t safe to drink was mistakenly posted to the City of Abbotsford website on Thursday night.

The post stated that “abnormal results” had been found in the water supply for the City of Abbotsford, District of Mission and Matsqui First Nation.

It further stated that residents should be using only boiled water for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing foods, washing dishes and making baby formula.

But the information wasn’t meant to go live, and there is currently is no boil-water advisory in place.

City spokesperson Katherine Treloar said the error occurred after regular daily testing of the water supply showed “atypical results” on Thursday.

Erroneous boil-water advisory
Treloar said the city consulted with Fraser Health, which said more testing was needed. In the meantime, a draft weblink was made in case Fraser Health determined a boil-water advisory was necessary, she said.

But the link was erroneously shared live on the City of Abbotsford website in the evening, and Treloar estimated it remained there for up to half an hour.

The information was then widely shared on Abbotsford and Mission social media platforms, which was soon followed by the City of Abbotsford posting messages that an error had been made.

“There is currently no boil water advisory in place for Abbotsford, Mission or Matsqui. Unfortunately a draft weblink was briefly made live on our website in error. Rest assured, emergency info would be communicated widely on abbotsford.ca and all City social platforms,” the post stated.

Treloar said the matter is now being reviewed to determine how the link was shared and to prevent a perhaps more-serious erroneous alert being shared in the future.

“The city is very committed to ensuring we have consistent and transparent communication and that our residents are informed in the quickest way possible. It’s very unfortunate that this error occurred,” she said.

Treloar said further testing will continue on the area’s water supply, but, at this point, residents do not need to be concerned about using or consuming it.

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Vikki Hopes | Reporter
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Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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