If one tailing pond can affect four surrounding lakes and pollute the drinking water for generations to come for all the local communities, what do you think hundreds of square miles of tailing ponds can do to our planet.

The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) Emergency Operations Centre has issued an update to the affected area near the Mount Polley Mine Tailings Pond.

The CRD says the breached area that occurred on Monday remains unstable, especially at the base of the debris flow. Another water advisory has been issued, this one in effect for Quesnel Lake, Cariboo Creek, Hazeltine Creek and Polley Lake. Consumption of water is not recommended for people or livestock and the CRD says boiling water will not help.

Helicopter reconnaissance in the area has revealed that the main slurry from the tailings pond went down Hazletine Creek where it meets Quesnel Lake. The creek was originally about four feet wide and is now up to 150 feet wide because of the breach. It’s still not known exactly how much damage has been done to the area since the pond at Mount Polley Mine broke up on Monday, but some estimates say more than five million cubic metres may have leaked into the creek.

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