This book, in addition to using a simple "Urban Water Test" kit to satisfy their curiosity as to how safe was their tap water in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada? The authors were also curious as to how recent raw sewage spills affected the water quality: For example, as cited by the CBC News, "More than one billion litres of partially treated sewage have flowed into the Red River over the past few weeks, due to a major glitch at a Winnipeg waste treatment plant, according to city officials." "For an unknown reason, these microorganisms suddenly stopped thriving on Oct. 7, 2011, upsetting the full biological treatment process," the city stated in a release.