A water quality advisory has been issued for the Blumenfeld-Hochfeld Water Co-op.
    
In a notice sent out by the province's Office of Drinking Water, the advisory is due to elevated arsenic levels in the supply. Recent testing shows arsenic levels range from 0.0223 to 0.0303 milligrams per litre (mg/l), which is above the current Canadian drinking water guideline of 0.010 mg/l. 
    
If this is your primary drinking water source, the Office of Drinking Water says you may wish to reduce the amount of water that you consume from this source. Options include using an alternative water source such as bottled water for drinking and food preparation; or treating the water. Boiling the water will NOT reduce the amount of arsenic in the water.

Since exposure is mainly through consuming the water, you can continue to use the water for all other household purposes, including showering and washing dishes.

An official with the Co-op says efforts are underway to hire a contractor to replace worn out system filters. 

This notice will remain in effect until arsenic levels in the drinking water are below the guideline limit. Customers will be notified when the notice has been rescinded. 

For more information on arsenic in drinking water supplies, visit www.manitoba.ca/drinkingwater. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Regional Drinking Water Officer at (204) 795-6908, or Health Links at (204) 788-8200 (toll free at 1-888-315-9257).