Vancouver Coastal Health Region has lifted the advisory on Vancouver’s water. Previously, the CBC reported that Tests were expected to disprove E. coli in Vancouver and now they report that Greater Vancouver’s boil-water advisory lifted. I guess I have to find some new Britta filters now.

From: Zanocco, Viviana [CORP] On Behalf Of VCH Communications
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 12:55 PM
To: VCH Communications
Subject: Water quality advisory lifted

PLEASE POST FOR THOSE NOT ON EMAIL

To: All VCH and PHC staff and physicians

From: Dr. John Blatherwick, Chief Medical Health Officer
Dr. Patricia Daly, Medical Director, Communicable Disease Control

Re: Update on Water Quality Advisory

*********************

On the advice of Medical Health Officers of Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health, the boil water advisory that has been in effect for Vancouver, parts of the North Shore and Burnaby is now lifted for these areas. Hospitals, care facilities, schools, food premises and the public are no longer being advised to boil drinking water or to use an alternate drinking water source. There is no boil water advisory for any area receiving water from the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD).

Water may continue to appear cloudy or discoloured for some time. While increased turbidity can be associated with increased risk of gastrointestinal illness, our extensive monitoring and testing leads Medical Health Officers to believe the water in the above areas is now safe to drink. Results are consistent with turbidity events in previous years, where bacteriological testing has also been negative. The results provide reassurance that while this event produced much higher levels of turbidity than usual, disinfection has not been compromised.

Immune compromised individuals should always boil drinking water or ensure their drinking water has been treated to the same level as boiling.

Viviana Zanocco
Senior Media Relations Officer and
Regional Communications Leader, Richmond Health Services
Vancouver Coastal Health
604.612.8053 cellular
email-address-suppressed

Latest update – the advisory as posted earlier HERE is still in effect. They did some testing earlier in the week for E.coli – it appears that the tests came up negative. I’ll post the latest VCH update on Monday.

Splashy . . . Tojo Hidekazu, who took home the bronze medal at the Gold Medal Plates competition at the Hyatt this week (behind Rob Clark and Pino Posteraro), announced that he’s moving premises mid-January four blocks west–near Alder. It will be a 185-seater with a Morimoto-like tab approaching $7 million – a budget that will only be outdone by David Aisenstat’s (Hy’s and the Keg) new fusion entry in the podium of the Shangri-La .

West 4th’s Gastropod is getting ready to fire burners; the finishing touches are just being applied – it’s a gorgeous small room that will add weight to the eastern end of Kits Village.  1938 West 4th Avenue | Vancouver
Tel: 604.730.5579
Cuisine: European Regional

Nish aka Boy Mongoose has put out an Indian rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas:

For those of you who can’t understand the thick Indian accent, here’s what he got for the twelve days of Christmas:

A totally insufficient dowry
2 nosy inlaws
3 butter chickens
4 Hare Krishnas
5 Indian Games (5 minutes of fame on the 12th day)
6 IT Graduates
7-Eleven Workers
8 Bollywood Workers
9 Telemarketers
10 minute yoga
11 syllable names
12 cricketball tamperers

In Vancouver, British Columbia, Muslim cab drivers are refusing service to infidels who violate Islamic laws—for example, blind people with guide dogs. (Hat tip: Pierre.)

Read the blog posting entitled Vancouver Shari’a Watch HERE and the comments associated with it on DIGG HERE.

I wake up this morning and see that the water’s brown. Naturally, I let the tap run a few minutes, nothing. After that, I check the web – the usual news sources, 24 hours, Metro News, Vancouver Sun, nothing.

So, I turn to the next best thing – Vancouver Coastal Health:

—–Original Message—–
From: Blatherwick, John [VC]
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 3:16 PM
To: Zanocco, Viviana [CORP]; VCHA SET
Cc: VCHA Executive Assistants
Subject: FW: Here comes the BROWN WATER
Importance: High

Here comes the Brown water. Seymour is off line due to a water line break and so Capilano is in full use. Capilano is traditionally our worst source. It has a huge head of water that is brown heading for the intake. They are damming it and trying to hold as much of it back as they can but sometime tonight, the brown water will hit.

This will affect all the North Shore and most of Vancouver and much of Burnaby and probably Richmond. The North Shore will be hit for sure – they can mitigate Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby somewhat with Coquitlam water. But I expect the brown water (over 10 NTU) will hit sometime tonight. I’ve asked for an advance warning to go out to the media for tonight’s news and tomorrow’s papers.

My message is – I don’t drink brown water. I’m not issuing a boil water order as that causes more problems than it’s worth – when it’s this brown – people aren’t going to use it. Get your stocks in bottled water. This is why we built the filtration plant!!!

Most of Fraser should be OK – but Burnaby will get some of this water – maybe even New West.

Thank you,

John

John Blatherwick, CM, CD, MD, FRCP(C)
Chief Medical Health Officer
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
#800 – 601 West Broadway
Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4C2
Phone: (604) 675-3804
Fax: (604) 736 – 8651
E-Mail:

We don’t get offered crises, they arrive.

—
An official advisory, as well:

November 16, 2006
To: All VCH and PHC staff and physicians
From: Dr. Brian O’Connor, Medical Health Officer
Dr. Patricia Daly, Medical Health Officer
Re: GVRD water advisory

With the heavy rainstorms over the past 48 hours, water in the reservoirs that supply drinking water to homes and businesses throughout Greater Vancouver is cloudy and brown. Turbidity readings are at unprecedented highs. As turbidity increases, there is a potential for increased risk of gastro-intestinal illness. On the advice of VCH’s Medical Health Officers, the GVRD has issued a water advisory for all communities it serves. This advisory suggests that residents may wish to use an alternate drinking water source such as bottled or boiled water.

VCH and PHC, however, are advising hospitals, long term care facilities, school districts, child care facilities and restaurants to use only boiled or bottled water for consumption, for teeth brushing, and in the preparation of fruits and vegetables. This means patients must be provided with these alternate sources of water.

VCH and PHC Supply Chain staff are aware that there will be increased demand for bottled water until the advisory is lifted. Orders for additional water (and other fluids) can be placed through regular channels.

The difference between the GVRD advisory and the instructions being provided to care facilities is that the latter REQUIRES the use of boiled or bottled water, as opposed to merely recommending it. This is a standard precaution in health facilities where patients are under our direct care.

Please remember that tap water is acceptable for uses other than drinking, brushing teeth or washing fruits and vegetables. GVRD staff will continue to monitor water quality closely. This advisory will remain in effect until VCH’s Medical Health Officers are satisfied that drinking water quality has returned to an acceptable standard.

So now you know. Don’t drink the water – it tastes and smells bad.

Here’s a recent favourite from Viceland:

DO:

East Indians have high IQs, which makes things real interesting when they completely lose their fucking minds.

(click HERE to see the original, click HERE to see other DOs and DON’Ts)

I’ve updated my blog entry from October 2nd, 2006, click HERE to check out new commentary on this Denman Street restaurant as well as more photos.

According to Wikipedia, An izakaya (居酒屋) is a common kind of Japanese bar or restaurant, also found in cosmopolitan cities throughout the world, popular in Japan for after-work drinking. A definitive feature of an izakaya is that it serves food as well as drink. Patrons typically sit on tatami mats and dine from low tables in the traditional Japanese style. (MORE)

Well, they seem to be popping up all over Vancouver as of recent:

Sonomama on Granville Street

Very clean decor – you can tell they’re a nascent operation. I enjoyed having dinner there (especially the wasabi steak) and will be back to check them out for lunch. Accessible to business and they’ll probably do very well due to their proximity to the Granville Strip (and my office).

Sonomama Bar & Grill
980 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1L2 (MAP)
TEL: 604.662.3770
FAX: 604.329.7942
WEB: http://www.sonomama.ca

Yutaka on Jervis Street

I had a quick stop into this restaurant on Friday. It’s a large restaurant with an open plan. Just off Robson, I can see alot of potential here. The food was okay, sushi was quite fresh but where they can excel is possibly looking at doing something inventive with their drink menu. No plans for that right now, though – they haven’t received their liquor license yet.

Yutaka Bistro Izakaya
793 Jervis Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 2B1 (MAP)
TEL: 604-633-9118
FAX: 604-633-9129

On another note, it seems someone in Japan has gone great lengths to open up an Izakaya in my honour:

If you’re ever in Setagaya-ku, keep an eye open for it.