The Greater Vancouver Regional District has lifted the boil-water advisory for about half the population of the Lower Mainland, but the other million residents of Vancouver, the North Shore and Burnaby are still being warned to avoid drinking tap water.

Friday's announcement came just a day after the advisory was issued by the Greater Vancouver Regional District after brown, murky water showed up in the water supply in the aftermath of the powerful storm that hit B.C.'s south coast this week.

A shopper stocks up on bottled water earlier this week, before supplies became tight.
(CBC)

In lifting the warning, the GVRD advised people to run their taps for several minutes to clear out the silty water before taking their first drink.

Officials said it's not clear when people still affected by the advisory would be able to drink unboiled tap water again.

They noted the turbidity at the Seymour and Capilano reservoirs was continuing to drop, but added that another major storm could again muddy the waters.

The City of Nanaimo and the town of Chemainus also issued boil-water advisories. Earlier, residents of Port Alberni, which suffered heavy flood damage during the storm, were told to boil their drinking water.

Tap water in all the affected areas has been brown and cloudy since the storm and could cause gastrointestinal illness, medical health officers said.

In communities still under the advisory, residents were being advised to use bottled water or to boil tap water for a full minute before drinking, brushing teeth or washing food. Water should be boiled and allowed to cool before being put in another container or refrigerated.

Precautionary measure

Dr. Patricia Daly, medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, had said earlier that the advisory serves as a precautionary measure. The storm affected local water reservoirs and stretched the capacity of the water treatment system.

"It's precautionary because we have no evidence of contamination or illness from the water," Daly said.

"We know that with turbidity levels this high, there is an increased risk of gastrointestinal illness. So people need to be aware of that, although it's their choice.

"If I'm asked, I'm telling the public: Don't drink the water from the tap at this time. Drink bottled water or boil your water for a full minute."

Daly said the advisory in affected areas is an order in nursing homes, hospitals and day cares, where people are at greatest risk.

"What we're telling our hospitals, our residential care facilities, our schools, our day cares is identical to what we would do in a boil-water advisory," she said. "We are telling them that they must supply their patients, their children with bottled water or boiled water. We are not giving them an option."

Many stores sold out

Residents have been snapping up bottled water from stores at a brisk pace. London Drugs says their supplies have been selling just as soon as water trucks arrive.

The same has been true at supermarkets such as Stongs, in Vancouver. Manager Frank Deacon said  people started showing up before the store opened Friday morning.

He said it didn't take long to sell out all 500 cases — much more than they normally sell in a month.

"We would probably sell about 10 or 15 cases of water a day, so there was a lot of liquid going out," he said.

Deacon said their second delivery of water on Friday didn't even make it into the store. He said customers simply jumped out of their cars and bought it by the caseload.

Gary Thiessen of Shopper's Drug Mart in Vancouver, told CBC News on Friday that the store had posted a sign on its front door Thursday evening saying it was out of bottled water.

He said customers are buying substitutes for water, including pop and juice, and the store has been inundated with calls asking whether bottled water is available.

"We sold out of bottled water as of 6 p.m. yesterday [Thursday] night. Everything was just gone. There was nothing left. People were buying everything they could get their hands on.

"I had one lady on the phone who was a little upset and said we should have more stock, but I explained that it's winter time and you don't expect a run on water," he said.

Bottled water for hotel guests

Jill Killeen of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver told CBC News on Friday the hotel has been offering bottled water to guests. She said hotel staff are paying close attention to the GVRD advisory and are checking the website for updates. 

"They weren't telling us not to drink the water. It was more of a precautionary measure," Killeen said.

She said the hotel has put guest letters in all rooms, letting patrons know that bottled water is available.

Its staff will continue to monitor water quality closely and the advisory is expected to remain in effect until medical staff members are satisfied water quality has returned to an acceptable standard.

With files from the Canadian Press