Tens of thousands of residents in Gatineau, Que., are under a boil water advisory Thursday, following an incident at the city’s drinking water plant.
The City of Gatineau said in a news release that ongoing electrical work at the plant caused a temporary shutdown of its distribution pumps early Thursday morning, resulting in a loss of water pressure for 77,000 people.
“The water pressure has been re-established, but a precautionary boil water advisory has been issued,” the city said in French.
The advisory affects a large swath of the Gatineau sector, and parts of Hull north of Highway 5.
The city says residents in the affected area must boil their water for one minute before consuming it until the advisory is lifted.
Once the boil water advisory is lifted, the city says to run all cold water taps and drinking fountains for one minute or until the water is cold before using it and discard any ice made with the water while the advisory was in effect.
A timeline to restore water service has not been established, but the city says boil water advisories are in effect for a minimum of 48 hours to accomodate for required tests to ensure water is safe to drink.
I a reply on X, the city said it hopes to be able to lift the advisory by the weekend.
A boil water advisory is always in effect for a minimum of 48 hours because, in order to lift it, our teams must conduct two tests demonstrating the water's potability, each 24 hours apart. We hope to lift the advisory over the weekend. We will notify as soon as we can! Thank…
— Ville de Gatineau (@ville_gatineau) January 23, 2026
