Imperial Oil has offered to test a spring on a Westward Ho property that the owner believes may have been contaminated by a recent fracking operation, company officials said.
Landowner Chris Huhn says on Jan. 25 he discovered that the spring on the property immediately north of Highway 27 at Rge. Rd. 34 was emitting a very strong sour sulphur odour.
He said he believes that it is "entirely possibleî that a hydraulic fracturing operation conducted by Imperial immediately northwest of his property starting on Jan. 23 may be responsible for the contamination.
"It's always been good water and it has never smelled like this,î said Huhn. "I'm not saying that it (fracking) did (the contamination); I'm saying it's possible.î
Hydraulic fracturing is a process where water and other fluids are pumped down a well hole and used to break apart rock to release hydrocarbons.
In response to Huhn's assertion that fracking may have caused his spring to become contaminated, Imperial spokesperson Christine Graves told the Gazette: "We are committed to working closely with our stakeholders to provide information about our developments and listen to concerns such as Mr. Huhn's.
"We did offer to have a qualified third party test his spring. We offered that within 24 hours of his request but we were not taken up on that offer. The offer still stands that we would be willing to test his spring.î
The company has been working with Mr. Huhn since August 2012, providing him with information about the company's development activities in the area, she said.
"Some of the other items we've done, is we've modified some of our well flaring activities, including shortening the duration of our flaring,î she said. "We've also put in some air monitoring equipment to ensure that we were not impacting the air quality in proximity to Mr. Huhn's property.
"We are committed to continuing to work with him to explore solutions and to address his concerns.î
For his part, Huhn said he had requested water testing be conducted before and after last month's fracking operation.
"I said I wanted it tested directly before and directly after because if there is an impact I want to see it right away,î said Huhn. "They said their geologist said there was no risk from the fracking and that they didn't see a reason to test.î
The Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG), a collection of oil and gas companies in the Sundre district, including Westward Ho, has been made aware of Huhn's concerns, says executive director Tracey McCrimmon.
SPOG promotes awareness of oil and gas issues through open houses, workshops and through working committees.
