15 years after Sask. cryptosporidium outbreak, new deal close to approval

Some 15 years after people in NorthBattleford, Sask.,were hit withcryptosporidiumin their drinking water, the Saskatchewan government and the city are still dealing with legal claims.

Now, a deal is close involvinga group of people who got sick when they were children.

No one died in the spring of 2001, but thousands of people got sick when thewater supply was contaminated.

Some of the people suffered from vomiting, diarrhea and high fever when the parasiteseeped into their water.

The province announced in 2003 that the Saskatchewan government and the city of North Battleford would pay $3.2 million to 700 people, with the individual amounts depending on how sick they became.

• FROM AUG 21, 2003:$3.2M for North Battleford water victims

Now, a settlementwith a different group of people isin the works.

Last month, the Saskatchewan cabinet approved spending up to $200,000 for the Bruneau Group law firm to administer claims from people who were minors at the time of the cryptosporidium outbreak and who are part of a proposedclass action lawsuit.

Brad Jamieson, a lawyer with a different law firm representing some of those people, said there's a tentative settlement in place to compensate victims in this "infant class" the youngest who are now teenagers.

The amounts per claimant haven't been made public yet,he said.

If all goes according to plan, the courts will approve the deal later this year.

"The last hurdle now is court approval," he said.

Around 1,000 people will be compensated in this latest round.

There is a six-month objection period to allow people to opt out of the deal.

Once that's over, in June or July next year, cheques will be cut for the plaintiffs, he said.