Rain in Greater Vancouver area, increased turbidity in drinking water

March 26, 2007

The rain has stopped in the Lower Mainland in British Columbia, but the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) says the region's water worries are not over.

Some residents in the area had to leave their homes after a mud slide came down Friday evening. About 21 consecutive days were without sunshine but rain in the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

The heavy rainfall above the steep hills above the region's water supply lakes mean that there may be increased turbidity in the drinking water, officials warn.

Officials say that this should not be a problem for most people, but people with bad immune systems should take extra precautions, like boiling their water. However, this is not a boil-water advisory. One was issued last November after a big storm in the Greater Vancouver area, affecting about a million people.