Boil water advisory due to false positive

Jeff Helsdon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Officials have determined a boil-water advisory issued for the Town of Tillsonburg on Oct. 16 was due to a false positive test.

Southwestern Public Health issued the boil-water advisory for an area in the Town of Tillsonburg, bounded by east of Broadway to Tillson Ave, and south of North Street East to Oxford Street after a routine test at the Tillsonburg Community Centre detected the presence of total coliform and E. Coli. Other tests conducted at the same time were clear.

“The test was a false positive since there was adequate chlorination and no other sample tested positive,” said Don Ford, manager of Water and Wastewater Services for Oxford County. “This can happen due to contamination of the sample bottle from the tap or accidently while sampling or improperly maintained private plumbing.”

The boundaries of the boil-water zone were set by Southwestern Public Health.

The advisory was communicated through a variety of methods:

• Signage was immediately installed at the Tillsonburg Community Centre

• 300 notices were hand delivered by Town of Tillsonburg Water Distribution staff and posted to high traffic locations in the affected area

• Media releases were posted to the town, county and SWPH websites and distributed to local media

• Radio ads and targeted Google ads were coordinated by Oxford County Communications team

• Incident messaging was added to the Town’s phone system

• Pop up notifications and information banners were placed on the Town website

• Notifications were posted to social media Facebook and X by SWPH, Town of Tillsonburg and Oxford County

• A push notification was sent to approximately 4500 users of the Town of Tillsonburg app

• Phone calls/emails were directed to the Business Improvement Area, Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce, and other stakeholders

• SWPH directly contacted their contact list

The advisory was lifted on Friday. Advisories aren’t lifted until two consecutive water samples are found to be clear.

There was some criticism that some people within the affected area. Tillsonburg Mayor Deb Gilvesy explained the responsibilities in cases like this.

“During a boil water advisory, the Town of Tillsonburg's role is to amplify and spread information,” she said. “The county tests the water, the results are shared with SWPH, and the town takes its direction from both these partners as to required next steps. With multiple stakeholders involved, sometimes communication is not as efficient as we would like. Please be assured that our Emergency Management Team will be reconvening to debrief this incident and make improvements wherever possible.”

The mayor also said if residents download the Tillsonburg app it will ensure notification is received.