Hundreds of "boil water" advisories have been issued in Ontario in the past two years, placing communities on high alert for tainted drinking water, the Canadian Medical Association Journal reports.

In a story published yesterday, the CMAJ reported that since 2006, Ontario had 679 such alerts ' warnings by public health departments telling residents they cannot ensure the safety of their drinking water without boiling it first.

But outside experts say there are many reasons why such advisories are issued, ranging from the bureaucratic, such as incomplete water sampling, to the systemic, such as problems in the water treatment plant process, to active health risks, such as toxic contamination.

Without an analysis of the reasons for each advisory, it is not clear that water is putting people at risk, said University of Toronto professor Ron Hofmann, who specializes in drinking-water engineering.

"That being said, it does mean that there are failures in the system," Hofmann said. "These 600 locations are hopefully something the government is looking at, to see what the problem is exactly, and how we are going to fix it."

The CMAJ reported nationwide figures for boil water advisories, with Ontario, the most populous province, in the lead with 679 since 2006, followed by British Columbia with 530, and Newfoundland, with 228. The CMAJ reported there were 1,766 boil water advisories in place as of March 31, 2008.

A health ministry spokesperson said yesterday public health officials must report every alert, but they are not required to inform the ministry when the problem is solved and the alert lifted. As a result, it is unclear whether problems have been fixed.

Laurel Ostfield, spokesperson for Health Minister George Smitherman, said changes will be made to ensure that the ministry is told when alerts are lifted.

In May 2000, the importance of clean water systems became painfully clear when a toxic strain of E. coli entered the water system of Walkerton, killing seven people, and causing 2,200 to become ill.

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