By Chris Jaster
The Saskatchewan Watershed Authority’s (SWA) free well-testing program appears to have been very successful in the Maple Creek area.
The SWA offered free testing after the June 18 flood of farmers’ and ranchers’ wells that were used primarily for drinking water. Nearly 70 per cent of the tested wells had biological concerns or a high level of nitrates.
Biological issues, like E. coli and total chloroform levels, may cause internal issues for residents. High nitrate levels may cause blood issues for children six months old and younger.
The SWA believes 30 per cent of wells in Saskatchewan exceed its parameters for safe drinking water, which means Maple Creek is a high-risk area. That, of course, is being blamed on the flood.
“The way it works is we get some of the standing water that leaks into the well head or leaks into the well itself. As a result of being on the surface, it brings those contaminants into the well,” said Terry Hanley, director of science information and monitoring for SWA.
Some wells that didn’t have flood water on them, however, also showed high biological or nitrate issues.
Greg Link’s well had traces of E. coli and high nitrates, which has him grateful for the free testing since the floodwater never reached his well.
“Some of these wells nobody checks them unless there’s a big problem,” said Link, a rancher in the RM of Maple Creek. “With the free testing, a few people got them checked out like myself and they’re not what we thought they were.”
Hanley said people in Link’s position shouldn’t be overly concerned as their wells also could have been affected by the flood.
“There are areas where there has been a lot of precipitation and that percolates down into the soil,” said Hanley. “The soil is like a sponge, it soaks this stuff up and it can end up in the aquifer. So you don’t necessarily have to have standing water over the well, you can have high rainfall.
“Some of the areas we have tested, and in Maple Creek as well, there may not have been flood waters, but as a result of that heavy precipitation, we have some contamination of the wells.”                
People from SWA have contacted each person who had a contaminated well and given them instructions for how to rectify their situations. People with bacteria issues were advised to shock chlorinate their well while those with high nitrate levels were advised to pump out their wells for a 12-hour period to try to lower that level.
The SWA has also given those residents bottles to submit a second test, at no charge, to make sure the situation has been rectified and informed Cypress Health Region of the area’s situation.
“We’re comfortable that those individuals know the kinds of things they need to do and we’ve also provided them with the opportunity to do follow-up tests to see how well their treatment has worked,” said Hanley. “We’re making sure those individuals have all the tools needed and available to make good management decisions.”