The Saskatchewan Environment Resource Management (SERM) agency released a precautionary drinking water advisory Thursday to 28 small towns and villages, including four in the Weyburn area, which fail to meet minimum requirements for water treatment.

The communities named in the warning, all of which have a population less than 150, include Antler, Beaubier, Benson, Broderick, Brooksby, Corning, Crooked River, Eldersley, Erwood, Fairy Glen, Gladmar, Gronlid, Herschel, Hubbard, Lake Alma, Mistatim, Nut Mountain, Pathlow, Penzance, Prairie River, Rama, Readlyn, Ridgedale, RM of Antler, St. Victor, Verwood, Wood Mountain, and Zelma.

Joe Muldoon, director of SERM's environment protection branch, said there is no contamination present in the drinking water of the towns listed in the report, with no immediate or serious danger to residents. In fact, Muldoon said, some of the towns have had the same water conditions for several years.

However, the equipment used by the 28 communities is inadequate by provincial standards, and a problem may possibly result in the event of a small flood or a water main burst.

With the recent water crisis in Walkerton, Ont., Muldoon said SERM wanted to make sure people were advised of similar potential problems.

"Given that it's post-Walkerton, people want to know what the risks are," he said. "We're not wanting to live with these risks anymore."

Besides upgrading their water treatment facilities, Muldoon said concerned residents may eliminate bacteria by boiling water for three minutes.

Provincial standards for water treatment call for chlorination of ground water and filtration of surface water with a chemical coagulant.

Myrna Lohse, administrator of Lake Alma, said her drinking water has tested clean of contamination for the past 10 years. However, because the town only bleaches its drinking water, it failed to meet the standards set by SERM within its report.

Lohse said her community has a very small tax base and is unable to buy new equipment, and current funding available would still leave the village with a third of the bill.

"A third of nothing is still nothing," Lohse said.

Sask. Party MLA Don McMorris agreed the problem was "certainly not a crisis situation," but added the advisory warning was indicative of the effects from neglecting Saskatchewan's infrastructure.

"There's certainly upgrading that needs to be done," he said.

McMorris said the government should conduct a study into the infrastructure system and develop a long-term plan, pointing out SERM's recommendation of boiling water to kill bacteria as a weak solution for concerned citizens.

"That's a cure to a problem, but it's not a solution," he said.

Municipal Affairs Minister Jack Hillson defended the provincial government's infrastructure plan, and said the provincial government has already taken steps to improve the province's infrastructure, referring to a $170 million five-year infrastructure agreement signed in October with the federal government, with half of the agreement slated for provincial water projects.

Hillson added the government is committed to providing safe facilities for Saskatchewan residents. "There's nothing more important than safe drinking water," he said.