Fort McMurray Forum

Presence of cancerous chemicals in Fort McKay's drinking water reduced
Organic chemicals are slowly being flushed from Fort McKay's drinking water.
Manager of Water Treatment and Underground Services for the Municipality, Shane Hogan says after a concerning spike this Summer trihalo methanes and haloacetic acids levels are coming down.
"The numbers that were getting in our sample results are continuously decreasing and right now were currently  approximately 60 per cent of what the limit is, and the limit is 0.1 so were approximately 0.06 and those  numbers are reflected across the five samples that were taking," said Hogan.
Despite the improvement in water quality, residents continue to drink bottled water.
Community Health Director, Dr. John O'Connor told Fort McMurray News last month, the organic chemicals had been present for years not months, as indicated by the municipality.
Hogan responded, admitting contamination had occurred before, but arguing that Federal regulations don't come into effect at the Fort McKay Municipal Water treatment plant until next year.
Prolonged exposure to the organic chemicals, caused by chlorination, have been linked to cancer and birth defects.
Increased water testing and modified treatment will continue until further notice.