White Rock water woes tied to pigeons

Pigeons may be responsible for contamination of the water supply in White Rock, B.C.

More than 20,000 people in the Vancouver suburb have been boiling their water since last Friday after coli and E. coli bacteria were discovered.

The company in charge of the system, Epcor, says it has found a type of yeast in the water that can be traced to pigeon droppings.

Epcor spokesman Scott Lundy said the company is still not sure how birds got into the water facility.

"The roof line and all that was inspected and no evidence of an intrusion, a small animal — be it a bat or a bird or something along those lines," Lundy said.

"There is no evidence to suggest that and yet the water tests come back with this encapsulated yeast suggesting that it is pigeon droppings."

Lundy said the most recent water sample says investigators should "keep looking for the kinds of things that are associated with pigeons or other types of birds. So that is what we are doing now."

Epcor says the boil-water advisory will be extended until Tuesday.