Anyone who drank tap water in Espanola on Tuesday night could get sick

A problem at the Espanola Water Treatment Plant allowed improperly treated water to enter the system, exposing residents to possible illness.

Public Health Sudbury & Districts said Wednesday evening the exposure times are between 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 31 and 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 1.

Anyone who drank municipal water between those times should monitor themselves for gastrointestinal symptoms due to potential exposure to cryptosporidiosis.

Cryptosporidiosis is an infection that causes diarrhea, among other health problems.

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“The issue at the plant has been resolved and the risk is very low that anyone who has consumed this water during the affected times will experience any ill health effects,” the health unit said in a news release.

“Water entering the distribution system after 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 1 … has been properly treated.”

Burgess Hawkins, a manager in the health unit’s health protection division, said in the release that “out of an abundance of caution,” anyone who drank the water during those times should monitor themselves for symptoms for 12 days.

“As an added precaution, residents should flush their water lines if they have not been used,” Hawkins said.

“If residents had boiled their water at a rolling boil for at least one minute prior to consumption, they would not be at risk.”

Effective filtration of drinking water is necessary to ensure the removal of parasites, particularly cryptosporidium from the raw water, Public Health said.

Symptoms of cryptosporidiosis include watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, anorexia, fever, nausea, general malaise and vomiting.

“Anyone experiencing one or more of these symptoms in the next 12 days should consult a health care provider and notify them of their potential exposure,” the health unit said.

For more information, visit Public Health’s website or call Public Health Sudbury & Districts at 705-522-9200, ext. 464, or toll-free 1-866-522-9200.