Red tape delays running water for resort village

Residents of Manitou Beach are hoping it will soon be safe to turn on their taps again.

The water supply at the resort village near Watrous was declared unfit for human consumption this spring, after an E.coli outbreak.

But most people at the beach say they've been hauling in their own drinking water for years.

The village bought a reverse osmosis treatment system worth $2 million several years ago, but mayor Tim Davies says he only received provincial approval to start using it this week.

Davies says cutting through government red tape has been a frustrating experience.

The process we've gone through here, it's been extra difficult," says Davies. "Of course we want to see our drinking water regulated properly. On the other hand, we'd also like to see other communities not have the problems we've had."

Davies says more tests will still have to be done before people can drink from their taps.