For much of March, the City of Weyburn and surrounding areas dealt with one of their biggest nuisances in recent memory.
For much of March, the City of Weyburn and surrounding areas dealt with one of their biggest nuisances in recent memory. However, on Sunday afternoon Weyburn residents were relieved to learn the boil-water advisory was finally lifted by the Ministry of the Environment. People who live in the city of Weyburn will once again be able to go to their taps for water like usual. However, those living in the Hamlet of North Weyburn, the Village of McTaggart, in Nickle Lake Regional Park and others who get their water through the Weyburn Utility Board are still on the precautionary boil-water advisory until further notice.
Candace Reich is one of those people still under the water advisory. The North Weyburn resident was "not impressed" with how the City dealt with the water advisory when it first started and these feelings remain now.
"They need to get their act together and figure out what the problem is," Reich said.
The young mother of a two-month old child went through a great deal of water during the water advisory because she is breast-feeding.
"I probably go through about eight to 12 bottles of water a day. So, we probably are going through two of the big containers of bottled water a week, so that is $40-$50 a month in water," Reich said.
Reich initially boiled her water but "got tired of doing it after a couple of days." The reason she decided to stop boiling her water was because of the sheer volume she is consuming.
"I would have two big pots of water boiling, and it couldn't cool fast enough for me to drink it," stated Reich.
The new mother added because of the boil-water advisory she has had to boil water to bathe her baby.
"It is not the early 1900's anymore, we should not have to boil our water (to drink and bathe in)," Reich said.
The opinions against the boil water advisory held by Reich did not apply to everyone. April Sampson said she was fine with the advisory because it meant "someone was looking after it."
"I remember when we didn't have running water, and I grew up in Saskatoon. We had a water man come around once a week with a barrel of water, and you didn't waste that water," Sampson stated.
Sampson believes "we should be really grateful just to have water." To the people who were complaining about the advisory, she said, "watch the six o'clock news and get a new perspective on the world."
The former Weyburn teacher boiled her water during the advisory and didn't "find it a nuisance" but considered it as "just a part of life."
"I just don't think it was necessary (to complain). If we couldn't flush our toilets, that would be a problem. But, we are lucky just to have water," Sampson said.
Sarah Paul had previous experiences with boil water advisories growing up on a farm near Radville.
"All the towns I lived in had boil-water advisories for years. It's not nice, and not good when it's in a city, but it's a part of life," Paul explained.
Like Reich, Paul also had to deal with the hassles of the advisory while taking care of her young family. Paul is the mother two children, aged one and two. During the advisory, she boiled water to bathe her children, clean with and had other water in storage. As well, her family purchased "a couple of jugs of water a week" for drinking. The jugs cost $5 each, however she "did not mind paying the extra cost."
For Mark and Arlene Sandeski, the water advisory "made life a little more inconvenient" while adding to their weekly budget. The couple estimates they spent $20 a week on jugs of water while the advisory was on.
"Like most people, we (had)to pay the money for our bottled water on top of what we are already paying for the water we cannot use because of this advisory," said Mark Sandeski.
Arlene works as a cook at the Legion Towers. She said when the advisory was on "all of the water used in any cooking (had) to be boiled first." This also goes for her job as a cook with the health region.
"I have 83 residents I cook for. Under the advisory, we have one person who pretty much only boils water. It has been really inconvenient," Sandeski said.
Mark Sandeski showed little sympathy for the workers at the water treatment plant who worked to end the situation. In the Weyburn resident's opinion it could have ended much faster.
"If they only had a qualified person looking after this then they could have done a better job (at ending the boil-water advisory). They should have done their due diligence to make sure something like this wouldn't have happened. Thousands of people have been affected by this, not only here in Weyburn but also for the small towns around here that have their water shipped out from here," Mark Sandeski added.
Sandeski said the water advisory had been "an inconvenient nuisance for the past few weeks."
"It is strange because you (had) to think before you turn the tap for water. I just got so used to drinking water straight from the tap, it became like second nature to me," Sandeski stated.
Though the precautionary boil-water advisory was a big deal to the Sandeskis, it did not have a big effect on the life of Donna Alexander. She thought "(the water advisory) was a good thing to take the proper precautions."
During the advisory Donna and her husband, Allan, have bought bottled water to drink and boiled water for brushing their teeth and washing vegetables. To the couple, the boil water advisory was not hard to adjust to.
"For us, it is just me and my husband. If we had small children I could see how the extra expense has been bad for families. But, it really has not been that bad for us," Alexander said.
Alexander's attitude toward the advisory was similar to Sarah Paul's. The Weyburn mother did not believe complaining about the boil water advisory would have made anything better.
"I understand people (were)upset, but it happens and you do what you have to do. I can't say it (didn't) annoy me, but as long as they tried to make things better I am behind them," Paul said.
Paul also had strong words for those in the community who want the City offer a rebate for what residents have been paying for their tap water while under the advisory. Paul suggested "people send in money to get a new water treatment centre if they want it so bad, instead of asking for this rebate."
These sentiments were shared by April Sampson. Sampson stated "she knows the advisory (was) harder on people with small children", but to her the inconvenience of water advisory alone was no reason to complain.
"If I had a young child, yes I would have to go out and buy bottled water, but why should I complain about that? A lot of people around the world don't even have the opportunity to have any water. Some people are just not appreciative of the gift we have," Sampson said.
Though Candace Reich has not enjoyed her time on the boil water advisory, she knows being on it is not "the end of the world."
"We can do it. No one is going to die (because of the advisory). It has just been a huge inconvenience for me," Reich said.
