A local medical officer, Dr. Murray McQuigge, first noticed symptoms of e.coli poisoning in several patients and immediately called the Walkerton PUC to ask if the town's water was safe. They assured him it was, although they already had the test results showing contamination. Dr. McQuigge called again a day later, getting the same answer, but as more people became ill, he finally issued a boil order for Walkerton, warning people not to drink the water. Unfortunately, by then, many had. Water-testing used to be handled by the provincial government, but since 1996 had been made a local responsibility in Ontario.
Some residents blame the disaster on provincial government cutbacks.
Premier Harris expressed sympathy to Walkerton, but citizens reacted angrily when he said that perhaps cutbacks of the former NDP government were to blame. The Premier also pointed out that the city's water supply had always been locally owned. Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the case. The Provincial Environment Minister Don Newman says the province will make immediate changes in testing requirements to make sure this doesn't happen again. A billion-dollar lawsuit has been launched against the Walkerton PUC and the provincial government on behalf of 1000 residents affected by the outbreak.