Interior Health says test results for water, including tests for metals and chemicals, on Quesnel Lake and River continue to meet human safety guidelines.
Current testing results also indicate that the water in Quesnel Lake and River are safe for recreational purposes such as swimming, fishing, and boating.
Interior Health’s Medical Health Officer meanwhile has deemed all fish outside of the revised August 12th, 2014 Do not Use Public Advisory as safe for human consumption.
Lake trout sampled in Quesnel Lake showed elevated mercury levels in fish gonads only, which Interior Health stresses can be naturally found in the environment and is not unusual in large predatory fish.
People should continue to refrain from consuming fish from the remaining impact zone which includes: Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek, and the area on Quesnel Lake within 100 meters of the Hazeltine Creek debris flow.
Interior Health reminds residents and visitors who take their drinking water from Quesnel Lake to treat their water for pathogens that are found naturally in all surface waters.
A long-term water monitoring program is being completed by the Ministry of Environment and Mt. Polley, with a long-term sampling program to monitor fish having been developed by the Ministry.
Interior Health says they will continue to interpret and monitor those results from a human health perspective and advise the public.