MLA Dan Davies calls out B.C. Health Minister on unsafe water at Shady Acres

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — It’s been 44 months since residents of Shady Acres have had unsafe drinking water, and on Wednesday, MLA Dan Davies went to X, formerly known as Twitter, to call out B.C.’s Health Minister on the situation.

Davies, along with many residents of the mobile home park, says that there have been high levels of manganese in the water supply for almost four years. However, many residents were unaware of the issue until Northern Health placed the park under a boil water advisory in April 2022.

Then, Northern Health issued a do not consume order on May 3rd, 2022, which is still in place.

“Northern Health and Shady Acres Management( Sterling Property Management) have been aware that the residents could not drink water from their taps for 44 months!” read Davies’ post to Health Minister Adrian Dix on X.

“[It’s a huge issue that] it’s four years later, and there is still no drinking water,” Davies said to Energeticcity.ca

Davies sent a letter to Dix on May 30th detailing the situation of Shady Acres resident Nicole Sorin, who claimed she didn’t know of the manganese issues until the boil water advisory.

The letter claims Sorin submitted personal samples to a private laboratory to test the level of manganese in her body — the results came back saying the amounts were excessive.

On August 21st, Dix sent a response letter to Davies saying, “Safe drinking water is an utmost priority for the Ministry.” Dix claimed that there were no clear health guidelines on manganese exposure from Health Canada prior to 2019, and health authorities have taken steps to address and inform individuals of the new guidelines from the governmental agency.

He then defended and detailed the decisions made by Northern Health.

1/4 – So @adriandix – 44 MONTHS, the residents of Shady Acres have had unsafe drinking water! I’ve communicated multiple times with Northern Health and your office and the residents are still in a “do not consume order”. pic.twitter.com/xs4mfQnPeQ

— Dan Davies (@Daniel_Davies) October 11, 2023

Multiple residents have done their own research, submitted samples to a private laboratory for testing and filed complaints to the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB)

A group of Shady Acres residents held a meeting earlier this year to bring awareness to the situation and come up with the best steps moving forward.

Residents have expressed constant frustration with the lack of action from both Sterling Property Management and Northern Health since the order was implemented.

According to a CBC report, Cassandra Ross, another resident of the mobile home park, said communication with her landlord has been sporadic outside of an email sent to all residents in May, saying work was being done.

“Sterling has done everything in their power to avoid us,” Ross said to CBC. “We’ve given them the opportunity to sit down and have conversations. We’ve called and asked questions. 

“We had a town hall meeting last February and invited them to it. They gave us no information.”

Ross was awarded $5,196 by the RTB after seeking a rent reduction equivalent to two years’ rent from Sterling. She has not yet been paid.

According to the RTB ruling on July 13th, Northern Health sent Sterling a letter on February 25th, 2020, stating that water tested at the site was above guidelines revised by Health Canada for concentrations of manganese in drinking water. 

Health Canada states that the acceptable level of manganese in water is 0.02 milligrams per litre, while the maximum allowable level is 0.12 milligrams per litre. 

A sample ordered by Northern Health in May 2022 showed levels of manganese at Shady Acres were 1.96 milligrams per litre.

According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), manganese is an essential trace element for the human body. Overexposure to the element through either inhalation or ingestion can lead to many issues in the nervous system, liver, lungs, bones, and reproductive systems. 

Northern Health said in the 2020 letter to Sterling that the high levels of manganese can also cause neurological effects and deficits in attention and memory in children.

According to Dix’s letter and the RTB ruling, Sterling has been working to install a water-treatment system at the park to reduce manganese levels. Work on the system to ensure water is adequately filtered to reduce manganese levels is still underway, said the letters.

In a thread on X this week, Davies said Dix’s letter was not assuring and claimed the NDP government “has been dismissive, and sadly, the water results have not improved.”

“We implore you to sort this situation out immediately!” read Davies’ final post.

Shady Acres Mobile Home Park is located at 12842 Old Hope Road in Charlie Lake, and the company that manages the park , Sterling, is based out of Fort St. John at 10151 100 Street.