The government of Newfoundland and Labrador says it has lifted restrictions on water use for a north coast town.

Residents of South Brook were told last week not to drink their water due to a ruptured dam around a tailings pond at a former copper mine.

The breach occurred when an excavator was attempting to remove a boggy area at the bottom of the dam at the old Gullbridge mine.

The town's water supply is about 26 kilometres away from the dam, and the province's Environment Department said the bog absorbed most of the runoff.

The department says in a news release today that lab results taken from the town's water supply indicate that it has not been contaminated.