Boil water advisory enters fourth day in two Montreal suburbs, lifted in Longueuil

A boil water advisory affecting more than 60,000 residents of two Montreal suburbs is now in its fourth day, despite being lifted in the neighbouring community that supplies their drinking water.

The cities of Boucherville, Que. and St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que., on Montreal's south shore, say residents are still being asked to boil water for at least one minute before drinking it.

The advisory has been in place since Friday, when E. coli bacteria was found in the water supply.

Boucherville spokeswoman Julie Lavigne says test results received on Sunday showed no contamination it the city's drinking water, but a second round of negative tests — the results of which are expected today — is required before the advisory can be lifted.

She says all three communities get their drinking water from a plant in Longueuil, Que., but are responsible for testing in their own networks.

She says her city wasn't able to test its water or send samples to a lab as quickly as Longueuil, which lifted its boil water advisory on Sunday evening

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2023.