EDMONTON – Shawn and Ronalie Campbell believe oil and gas well activity near their farm has contaminated their drinking water and they want the provincial government to recognize the seriousness of ground water contamination.
For more than a year what they call “explosive gas” mixed with water has bubbled and hissed from the taps, making their water unsafe for people or livestock to drink. The central Alberta family is frustrated the province refuses to acknowledge there is a problem.
“People need to hear about this. Why is the safety of citizens not a priority?” Shawn asked during a news conference at the Alberta legislature on May 1, which was organized by the provincial Liberal party to highlight the problems of tainted ground water.
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There are more than 30 oil and gas wells on the Campbells’ three section farm near Ponoka. They say the proliferation of oil and gas activity across the province and its impact on ground water must be addressed.
Methane, ethane, propane, butane and pentane, all explosive gases and all found in deep oil and gas production zones, have been identified in their water.
“We’ve been told that our water meets Canadian drinking water standards, but those standards have no criteria for gas in the water because it’s not supposed to be there,” said Ronalie.
The Campbells were part of a delegation of rural landowners who travelled to the legislature to encourage the provincial government to recognize the seriousness of the situation.
“We do not believe ground water protection is adequate in this province,” said Jessica Ernst of Rosebud, who has lobbied the government for years about methane in her drinking water.
Environment minister Rob Renner said there is no conclusive proof that coalbed methane harms ground water.
“Alberta Environment is doing everything that it possibly can to get to the bottom of this issue,” said Renner.
Fiona Lauridsen, also of Rosebud, said her skin burns from the chemical soup in her farm water. Encana pays for water to be hauled to their home, but the family has moved their cattle to another farm during calving.
“I don’t want to see my animals poisoned,” she said. “The water coming out of my well is vile. You can’t swallow it.”
She said Alberta Environment believes the methane in her well comes from bacteria from a poorly maintained well, not nearby methane development.
“The government keeps saying it’s bacteria in the wells. How much methane can one well make? Why does the Alberta government not want to know how much methane is in the water? They’re not protecting me. They’re looking the other way.”
Ernst said tests are needed to identify the source of contamination.
Mary Griffiths, senior policy analyst with the Pembina Institute, said there is a growing frustration in rural Alberta that government officials refuse to believe oil and gas activity could hurt ground water.
“It seems to be unfair that the onus always is on the landowner to prove they’re innocent and even if they do, it seems there is no recourse,” said Griffiths, the author of Protecting Water, Producing Gas, a report on the need for more ground water protection.
In 2005, more than 13,000 conventional natural gas wells were drilled in the province and about 4,000 were for coalbed methane.
One of the key recommendations of Griffiths’ report is the need for more monitoring of water.
Alberta Environment has about 200 monitoring wells, down from 400 in 1990. Manitoba, with a fraction of the energy development, has 600 ground water monitoring wells.
