Hundreds may have been infected, and have reported to hospital with cramps, diarrhoea and flu-like symptoms. Last summer, seven people died in Walkerton, Ontario, after a lethal form of the bacteria E Coli invaded the town's water system. Thousands were made seriously ill. Walkertown was a political scandal that made headlines for weeks after it was revealed that municipal officials ignored warnings of danger and doctored safety reports. In North Battleford, it appears the municipal officials checked water days after learning there was a problem.
Standards vary from province to province, but environmentalists say they are generally far too lax.
In Ontario, for example, an industrial solvent called trichloroethylene has been detected at levels that would not be permitted in the United States. That has environmentalists in towns and cities across the country calling for urgent action by the federal government, including a review of the patchwork system now in place and the establishment of national standards. Clean water has become a hot political issue. Increasingly intensive livestock farming has led to more runoff into streams and groundwater. Farmers are permitted to spread human sewage on their fields.