CRAIK—The water flowing through the water taps in Craik may be crystal clear but it’s still not considered safe to drink.

The town remains under a precautionary drinking water advisory and will continue to do so until the water going through the town’s new water treatment plant receives the all clear from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency.

“Right now water is going through the new system. The filters are working and treating the water,” said Craik’s administrator Sarah Wells.

Work to install a new water treatment system, a Sapphire integrated biological reverse-osmosis membrane, began in late August.

While new pumps, pressurized vessels and motors were installed at the old Mainstream plant at the Craik dam, work was also done at the old water distribution building located near the Craik museum. This involved retrofitting two reservoirs to add about 40,000 gallons of storage capacity to ensure sufficient water is available in emergency situations.

Sapphire Water and Black and MacDonald, the contractors of the mechanical and electrical side of the upgrade, have been working daily on the plant.

“It’s moving along,” she said.

Craik did experience a planned water outage on Feb. 14 so that scheduled repairs at the water plant could be performed.

Another job that still remains to be done is to clean the cisterns.

Craik residents are anticipating the day when they’ll be able to drink the water that comes out of their taps.