A group of residents near Smiths Falls, Ontario have been without water for almost two weeks because of a nearby fire. And right now there’s no indication when they might be able to turn their taps on again.
The fire happened November 6th at the Rideau Valley Market, a popular flea market on Highway 43 in the township of Drummond North Elmsley, just west of Smiths Falls.
Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to nearby homes, but chemicals from burning materials leached into the ground water, the most serious of which is benzene, a hydrocarbon that can travel from the water into the air. “Which means that if you turn the water on the benzene that's in the water will become aerosolized. You will breathe it and it can get on the skin," says Dr. Paula Stewart, Medical Officer with the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
Benzene exposure can cause short-term symptoms including sore eyes, skin rash, dizziness and drowsiness. It is also a known carcinogen.
Ten properties near the fire were affected. Gail Read owns one of them. Her son and his young family live in it, or are trying to without running water. “In this situation we've got a four-year-old child, and we have a pregnant mom. Dad is a welder and there's no shower. There are no laundry facilities," she says.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has ordered the market owner, local businessman Tom Pirie, to provide residents with bottled drinking water until their wells are safe again. Pirie says he is sympathetic with their plight and is doing what he can. He says he is buying the water out of his own pocket while he waits for his insurance company to take action. He says he’s also waiting for more information from on-site testing.
Meanwhile, some families are struggling with living on bottled water, and may have to leave their homes. Both the Health Unit and the local township are looking into the situation to see what help they can provide. “The wells need to be treated,” says Gail Read. “We need to get back to the good country water that we had here.”
