25 years later, Walkerton, Ont., bears the scars but has bounced back – CBC
7 people died, 2,300 became sick during 2000 E. coli contamination
May 15, 2025
It’s been 25 years since the Walkerton, Ont., tainted water tragedy nearly killed her daughter, and Trudy Fraser still does not feel comfortable drinking tap water.
“You lose that trust when you see people you know who got sick and passed away,” she said. “That’s why I still drink bottled water. It’s stayed with us.”
Many in this town of 5,000 roughly 150 kilometres north of London, Ont., vividly recall the effects of the Victoria Day weekend in 2000, when a massive rainstorm washed water contaminated with deadly E. coli bacteria from a nearby farm field into one of the wells that fed Walkerton’s water supply.
Seven people died, 2,300 people got sick, and an inquiry followed, exposing how funding cuts had gutted provincial oversight of drinking water.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/walkerton-25-year-later-tainted-water-1.7534610
