Last week, the village of Macoun had to be put under a precautionary boil water advisory after they found a hole in one of their main lines. Initial signs were promising as water turbidity levels dropped almost right away, but the advisory can't be lifted just yet. 

"The water advisory that was issued last week still remains in effect," explained village CAO Carmen Dodd-Vicary. "Our water clarity, our turbidity levels, have come down back to normal, however, we still have to submit the required sampling. By the time the water clarity levels were low enough last week, it was too late for us to submit our samples. They would not have made it to Regina in time."

The village has started its sampling this week, with the first three samples already collected and more to be collected later today. Now the hope is they'll be able to submit the samples in time to have the advisory lifted by Friday. 

"Our water levels in our water treatment plant are back down to the levels they should be at," said Dodd-Vicary. "It's just more of a precautionary thing to get these six samples submitted and follow the guidelines of the province."

The boil-water advisory requires all water to be used for consumption to be boiled for at least one minute. Water for bathing is fine, and washing dishes in a dishwasher is ok, but any dishes done in the sink should be rinsed with a bleach solution. Having this advisory fall over the Thanksgiving weekend made for awkward timing, but residents appeared to handle it well. 

"Residents were actually really good about it," said Dodd-Vicary. "There were some residents that were able to travel to family and didn't have to worry about it. Other residents were able to prepare and get that water boiled ahead of time. It doesn't take long to boil water for a minute or two and then you just bottle it and set it aside." 

Dodd-Vicary added that most water used for cooking is supposed to be brought to a boil anyway, so she didn't think it affected too many people too severely. The advisory has been in place since Monday of last week.