People in White Rock, B.C. can drink water directly out of their taps again after officials lifted a boil water advisory that's been in place for 12 days.
About 20,000 people in the city and a small area of Surrey were affected by the advisory, which took effect Aug. 20 after the water became infected with E. coli.
Fraser Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin says the water is now safe to drink but people are being told to flush out their pipes by running the water for at least a minute before using it.
White Rock's water is not filtered or treated in any way and is provided by a private company called EPCOR, which drained a reservoir holding 1.2-million litres of water to inspect and disinfect it before refilling it.
It's suspected pigeon droppings may have contaminated the water supply.
There are no reports of anyone getting sick as a result of the contamination.