British ColumbiaA boil water advisory for Duncan, B.C., has been lifted. In came into effect on Monday after a sewer main break near one of the city’s wells. While there was no sign of contamination, Island Health tested water just to be sure. The precautionary boil water advisory was declared on Dec. 1CBC News · Posted: Dec 04, 2025 8:12 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The City of Duncan provides water services to its residents, and some portions of the Cowichan Valley Regional District, North Cowichan and Cowichan Tribes. (Wikimedia Commons)The City of Duncan has lifted a days-long boil water advisory that affected residents of the Vancouver Island city and some neighbouring communities. “Thank-you to all of our water system users for your patience during the precautionary boil water advisory,” said Peter de Verteuil, the city’s chief administrative officer, in a statement. “We know this has had a significant impact on families and businesses, and we appreciate the extra steps you took to stay safe while we worked to complete the testing and receive the results.”Read more news from Vancouver IslandDuncan issued what it called a “precautionary” boil water advisory late Monday.It happened after a sewer main break was detected the previous Friday approximately 40 metres from one of the city’s wells.The city repaired the break, turned off the well, and did not detect any water contamination — but said when it informed Island Health of the issue on Monday, the health authority advised the city to issue the boil water advisory. A two-step testing process is required to have the advisory lifted, and news of the second clear test was announced Thursday afternoon. The City of Duncan’s water system serves approximately 14,000 people across multiple jurisdictions — the city itself, as well as portions of the Cowichan Valley Regional District, North Cowichan, and Cowichan Tribes. During a boil water advisory, tap water should be boiled for one minute before drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth. City faces criticism over communication The city has faced criticism for how it informed people of the advisory, with some local business owners saying they only found out about it on social media. Duncan Garage Café and Bakery co-owner Matthew Huotari told CBC News that he happened to see a Facebook post about it late Monday evening, and had to scramble with his business partners to come up with a plan for the next day. “And even when I’ve talked to a lot of people, like not that many people actually knew. We didn’t really get any notices anywhere else,” Huotari said.WATCH | Is B.C.’s emergency alert system effective? It depends on who you ask:Is B.C.’s emergency alert system effective? It depends on who you askAn emergency manager on Vancouver Island is calling on the province to help standardize emergency alerts. He says it could help smaller communities share critical information. CBC’s Kathryn Marlow reports. The city said it shared information using Cowichan Alert, the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s emergency notification service. It says that’s the main way it shares information about significant impacts to city services, in addition to its website and Facebook page. Residents can sign up to receive alerts by going to the Alertable website.
Boil water advisory lifted for Duncan, B.C., and surrounding area
