12/04/2025
An update from the City of Duncan
UPDATE - December 3, 2025 - The boil water advisory issued December 1, 2025 remains in place.
Due to the significant number of questions and concerns circulating in the community, the City is providing further details regarding the sewer force main break that occurred on Al Wilson Grove.
On Friday, November 28, 2025, City crews responded to a report of unusual water accumulation on Al Wilson Grove. Upon identifying that the sewer force main had broken, the City reported the break to the BC Ministry of Environment and Parks, and crews worked continuously overnight until the break was repaired.
Well #2, which is approximately 42 metres away from the sewer break, was immediately turned off as a safeguard, and remains off at this time. On Monday, December 1, 2025, Island Health directed the City to issue a precautionary boil water advisory. Although the City is confident that the water supply was not contaminated, a two-sample testing process is required to verify the safety of the water distribution system. The results of the testing process are not expected until the afternoon of Thursday, December 4, 2025, at which time the advisory may be lifted. Notice of an end to the boil water advisory will be communicated via Cowichan Alert which is available through the Alertable app available on both Apple and Android, and at alertable.ca.
The Cityโs water system serves 14,000 people across jurisdictions in the City of Duncan, Cowichan Valley Regional District, North Cowichan, and Cowichan Tribes. If you receive your water bill from another jurisdiction, you are not affected.
โWe are extremely proud of the fast action of our Public Works crew in responding to these events,โ said Peter de Verteuil, the Cityโs Chief Administrative Officer. โWe are thankful to the residents that reported the unusual accumulations of water so that we could respond. We encourage anyone who notices unusual conditions in the City to contact us as soon as possible, no matter how minor it may appear to be. When on site repairing the sewer force main break, crews were advised that neighbours had noticed the leak several days prior but had not reported it. Please donโt assume we already are aware, or that we are monitoring community pages. The sooner we are aware of an issue, the sooner we can investigate and take the appropriate steps.โ
This sewer force main is over 1,000 metres long, running from Cowichan Way to the Joint Utilities Board Sewage Lagoons. Installed in the 1970โs, the City has been working towards replacing it with a gravity feed re-routed to Dobson Road. While this work was originally planned for 2028, due to recent events the City is moving the project forward to 2026.
The City used Cowichan Alert, the Cowichan Valley Regional Districtโs emergency notification service, to communicate information about the precautionary boil water advisory. Alongside the Cityโs website and page, Cowichan Alert is a key method the City uses to communicate significant impacts to services. Everyone is encouraged to sign up using the link available on Emergency Management Cowichanโs website at https://emcowichan.ca/programs-resources/cowichan-alert/ to receive push notifications with updates to your mobile device or computer. The Alertable app can be downloaded directly from the Apple or Android app stores.
Visit www.duncan.ca for a larger version of the map of the water service area.
