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UPDATE: Still unclear what triggered water advisory in Okanagan Falls

Head of irrigation district said operators continuing search for cause of weeklong boil-water notice that was lifted Thursday
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Water taps in the Okanagan Falls Irrigation District are less busy these days as the district put a boil water advisory in effect since July 10. The boil advisory was put in effect when a water sample revealed the presence of E. coli in the system. The boil-water advisory is expected to be in place at least until Friday.

Update: 1:30 p.m.

The head of the Okanagan Falls Irrigation District said it’s still unknown how the contamination that triggered a weeklong boil-water advisory got into the system.

“We haven’t figured it out, but that’s the next step is going through the system,”  board chairman Bob Daly said Friday, a day after the advisory was lifted.

The advisory affected 1,000 residential and business customers during the hottest part of the year and at the height of the tourist season.

“We really do appreciate their patience because it was an awful inconvenience for a lot of people,” said Daly.

He added that system operators will likely go to twice-weekly water testing, rather than the usual once-weekly testing, until they’re confident the contamination won’t reoccur.

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Posted: 9 a.m.

The boil-water advisory for Okanagan Falls was lifted Thursday at 5 p.m.

"The entire distribution system has been flushed and three water samples over the past week have been taken and tested," the Okanagan Falls Irrigation District said in a statement.

Bob Daly, who chairs the district's board of directors, could not be immediately reached for comment.

A boil-water advisory was issued July 10 after E. coli was discovered during a routine water test.