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Service notice - Potable Water Temporarily Restricted on Salish Heron

Posted:   Thursday, April 02, 2026

Issued: Thursday, April 2, 2026

Potable Water Temporarily Restricted on Salish Heron

Tsawwassen – Southern Gulf Islands

 

Potable water on board the Salish Heron will not be available for drinking or food preparation as the vessel returns to service from refit this afternoon. 

Customers will be informed through onboard and terminal announcements, as well as posted signage. Customers with bookings will be contacted directly by email. 

Bottled water will be available on board, and full food service will be offered with adjustments in place to ensure food is prepared safely. Ferry service will continue as scheduled.

This follows routine water quality testing that identified elevated Total Plate Count (TPC) levels in an initial sample. While Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality do not prescribe a limit for TPC, BC Ferries follows industry best practices to keep levels low and takes precautionary action when results are flagged. Our approach goes beyond regulatory requirements and reflects our commitment to maintaining high water quality standards. 

We have restricted use of onboard potable water systems while follow-up testing and maintenance are underway.

Water systems will only be returned to normal use once results are confirmed safe in line with our protocols developed in consultation with public health officials.

We know customers may have questions given the number of precautionary water-related measures taken over the past two weeks. While this is more than we would typically expect to see in a short period, these cases have involved different types of test results and are not believed to be related. In all of the other recent cases, follow-up testing confirmed water quality was safe, and there is no indication of a broader system issue at this time.

We are working closely with public health experts and following their guidance to ensure safe operations on board.

We will update this Service Notice as further information becomes available.

For up-to-date sailing and departure information, check Current Conditions, follow @BCFerries on X or phone 1-888-223-3779 for further assistance.

 

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