How well is your water well?
An Alberta study on rural water wells found that most people don’t know.
Responses from 1,014 surveys returned in 2010 showed only 10 percent of Alberta water well users test their water well quality at least annually and only 30 percent regularly shock chlorinate it, which involves flushing large amounts of chlorine into the water system.
Approximately 450,000 households in the province rely on wells for their household needs.
Krista Tremblett is the former program co-ordinator for Working Well, an Alberta Environment program initiated in 2007.
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She said she was not surprised by the survey results, having learned about the infrequency of water well testing from organizing focus groups and workshops.
“That and the survey told us people don’t necessarily see the need or the value in testing,” Tremblett said.
The survey, done by the University of Alberta on behalf of the provincial environment department, resulted in eight key findings, among them that 36 percent of respondents with abandoned wells on their properties had properly decommissioned them.
It also found a low level of knowledge about water sources and a false sense of security about drinking water safety. Lack of money wasn’t usually a reason for poor well maintenance.
“It gave us more information on the current stewardship practices of well owners in Alberta, and what were the factors that would encourage or discourage them from adopting certain best management practices like shock chlorination or water testing,” Tremblett said.
The survey’s executive summary indicates water quality should be a concern for well water users.
“Research projects on private water well quality across Canada suggest that about 20 to 40 percent of private wells fall outside of safe drinking water guidelines,” it said.
“In a 1997 study of water wells on rural farmsteads in Alberta, more than 32 percent of wells tested exceeded at least one health related contaminant, with 14 percent having total coliform bacteria exceeding limits and six percent showing presence of fecal coliforms.”
Tremblett said co-ordinators would use survey results in the next phase of the Working Well program when deciding where to focus their resources.
Key findings of water well survey
•There is a low level of well maintenance and stewardship.
•Most respondents had little knowledge about the source of well water and well function.
•Most people have a false sense of security about well water safety and unjustified confidence in their water supply knowledge.
•Knowledge of good water well care does not motivate people to practice good well care.
•Health and aesthetic concerns were key motivators for those who did take proper care of water wells.
•Cost is not a significant barrier to good well care.
•Many respondents want more information on taking care of water wells.
•Those wanting information on well care tend to seek it from water well contractors or others in the community.
