Millions of cubic meters of water, sand and chemicals, which were released into the waterways of British Columbia, Canada, from a breached mine tailings pond have led to a total water ban for residents in the area of the incident.

Some 10 million cubic meters of water and 4.5 million cubic meters of fine sand from the tailings pond of the Mount Polley copper and gold mine spilled over into lakes and creeks in the area on Monday, according to a statement by the British Columbia’s Environment Minister Bill Bennett, released the following day.