It could be eight weeks before water safe

By Andrea Baillie, The Canadian Press

WALKERTON, Ont. — Safe drinking water could be another two months away for beleaguered residents of this small southwestern Ontario town facing a deadly bacteria outbreak that has killed at least seven people.

As the town braced for a third week without clean water, the man who blew the whistle on the worst case of contamination in Canada's history got some police protection.

Dr. Murray McQuigge, the area's chief health officer, said he was told at a meeting Wednesday it will be "another six to eight weeks before Walkerton will be able to tell us that they consider the water safe to drink."

McQuigge was escorted to Wednesday's meeting by a plainclothes police officer.

Asked about the police presence, he would only say that he has been receiving phone calls from some "very unusual people" with "some very different opinions," though he didn't consider the calls threatening.

McQuigge has been adamant that town officials could have acted sooner and that provincial cutbacks contributed crippled the Environment Ministry's ability to properly screen rural water supply. He has also vowed that the boil-water alert will remain in place until exhaustive testing has taken place.

The news is yet another blow to townspeople who have watched the E. coli virus kill at least seven residents and leave hundreds more wretchedly ill.

"It is frustrating," said resident Karen Bester. "I'll probably never drink the water again."

Like so many in this quiet farming town, Bester said she suffered from some of the symptoms related to E. coli in the months before the outbreak erupted. Symptoms of infection can include fever, diarrhea and cramps.

The town was stricken in the early spring by what most people thought was a flu bug, said Bester, but now many suspect they were sickened by water contaminated with a more benign variation of the E. coli bacterium.

An update from town officials on the status of the water is expected today, but the Ontario Clean Water Agency, which has taken over the poisoned system, says there will be no clear answers.

"This is nothing like a normal event. It has to be done exactly right," said Laurence Moore, manager of compliance and research for the agency. "It's going to be (fixed) just as soon as possible."

The agency began operating the town's water system last week, after McQuigge suggested that the local water utility knew about the contamination for several days, but failed to warn the public.

Moore says he's heartened by recent test results from 20 taps in area homes and businesses that showed no signs of the bacteria.

"This is the first set of samples that have been fully representative of the community," he said.

Next week, the agency hopes to begin the arduous process of going door-to-door and flushing the pipes in each of the community's 2,400 buildings.

The agency estimates that 200 homes can be visited each day.

Moore said it was difficult to estimate how long it will take to clean up the system.

"We're here, we're working through the weekend," he said.

As officials try to restore the system, provincial police have started an investigation into the outbreak.

An abandoned building across from the town hall has been transformed into the investigation's headquarters and a special computer, originally designed to hunt serial killers, was shipped into town earlier this week.

The software -- called Powercase -- was developed after the Paul Bernardo investigation to better connect clues gleaned from different police forces.

"It's a special system designed for large and complex investigations," said Supt. Rick Kotwa. "The volume of information (it can handle) makes it easier to track events and search for names."

Although Kotwa would not divulge specific details of the investigation, he said local provincial police officers had received "a few" calls.

Ontario's coroner said Wednesday that residents with relatives who died before the outbreak should contact police if they recall seeing symptoms of E. coli infection leading up to the deaths.

But the length of the investigation, like the time it will take to get the town's clean tap water system up and running, is difficult to determine.

"Given the size of this investigation, we have no idea when this will conclude," said Kotwa.