2005-06-10|Gatineau left residents uninformed about tainted water
To whom it may concern
Every time the water is contaminated, a municipal authority (e.g., Department of Water) issues a boil-water advisory. The residents are supposed to hear about the problem of their water supply via the Internet, television, radio, newspaper, or word of mouth. There is a significant time lag between the starting time of the contamination and the time that the residents hear about the water problem via mass media. Often, some residents hear about the problem a few days later, or after the boil-water advisory has been lifted.
I would like to propose that the municipal authority add colour (e.g., yellow food colouring) to the water supply when the water is contaminated. This way, the residents would immediately notice the warning that the water may not be safe to drink.
Food colouring has been extensively tested over many decades, and its safety is proven. The cost of not giving adequate warning would be the potentially great health damage by the contaminated water itself.
