Boil water advisory in effect in Sudbury area after coliform bacteria detected
Written by The Canadian Press on May 7, 2026
SUDBURY — A boil water advisory is in place in Sudbury, Ont. and surrounding areas after a public health official says coliform bacteria were detected in the public water supply.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is warning all residents in Sudbury, New Sudbury and Falconbridge to bring tap water to a roiling boil for at least a minute before consuming, or use bottled water.
The agency’s associate medical officer, Dr. Emily Groot, says samples taken from two water plants came back positive for coliform bacteria, a group of bacteria found in dead vegetation and animals.
Groot says most coliform bacteria are not harmful to humans but their presence in drinking water could indicate a larger issue in the municipal system.
Burgess Hawkins, a manager at the public health agency, says the boil water advisory is in place as a precaution and officials don’t believe anyone who has consumed water from the municipal system will experience negative health effects.
Groot says no residents have gone to hospital so far with symptoms consistent with drinking contaminated water.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts says officials are taking additional water samples from the David Street Water Treatment Plant and Falconbridge Water Treatment Plant and the current advisory will remain in place until tests confirm the water supply is safe.
Groot says it’s too soon to say how long the boil water advisory will be in place, but said the earliest it could be lifted is Friday evening if two consecutive water tests taken 24 hours apart come back with no signs of contamination.
Officials say the following Sudbury-area communities are unaffected and not subject to the boil water advisory: Copper Cliff, Coniston, Walden, Garson, Val Caron and area, Azilda, Chelmsford, Dowling, Skead, and Onaping.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2026.
The Canadian Press