MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - A water well testing projected conducted by Alberta Health Services and Mountain View County in the South McDougal Flats area west of Sundre has found that groundwater sampled there is safe for human consumption, say officials.
Pamela Kutuadu, Alberta Health Services public health inspector for the central zone, presented the South McDougal Flats testing project report to council on March 12.
Prior to Kutuadu’s presentation, Margaretha Bloem, the county’s director of planning and development, told council that as part of the South McDougal Flats area structure plan review in 2024, some residents raised concerns about groundwater quality related to gravel pit and fracking activity.
“Alberta Health Services at the time confirmed that there are no identified concerns with the quality of the water or with health risks associated with well water consumption in the area at the time,” said Bloem.
In response to the residents’ concerns, the testing project was initiative by Alberta Health Services and the county.
The project saw testing done on samples submitted by area residents between Oct. 1 and Nov. 15. Invitation letters to make submissions were sent to 234 residents, and two working well workshops were also held, with 59 individuals attending.
“This testing project will help establish a more comprehensive and current baseline of local water quality, which will aid in the monitoring of local water quality over time,” said Bloem.
Kutuadu said in all, 42 bacteriological samples and 41 chemical samples were submitted by owners within South McDougal Flats.
As well, 34 historical chemical samples were identified and included in the pooled analysis of 75 chemical samples.
Regarding the bacteriological sampling, three samples that showed the presence of total coliform had satisfactory resamples with no total coliforms present. Coliforms are non-pathogenic bacteria found in the soil, plants, sewage and manure.
Of the 75 chemical samples, seven were found to have maximum acceptable concentrations – four from the project samples (two fluoride and two lead) and three from the historical samples (one lead and copper, one fluoride only and one lead only).
In her summary of the project, Kutuadu said, “The overall findings from everything is that we found that from those who had submitted water samples, the ground water quality appears to have lower levels of parameters of concern when compared to the historical local watershed and as well as the entire provincial water quality comparison.”
Reeve Angela Aalbers asked Kutuadu: “From the sampling and from your report is there anything that shows that any of this water is not fit for human consumption and it is a safe source of water in every sample?”
Kutuadu replied, “There are certain ones that we did flag. So for example, there are some that did have fluoride exceedance. Maximum acceptable concentrations for fluoride are set for children with growing teeth, so children up to about the age of eight, and so we would do a one-on-one consultation with the household and look at, based on the levels that were reported in their water, do they have children in the home and then we would advise on a one-on-one if they should look at installing some kind of treatment.
“Across the board, if I was to generally categorize it, I would say that there is no indication at this time based on the samples that were submitted in the project that the current water quality within the South McDougal Flats is not potable; there’s no indication of that at this time. It is by all accounts and purposes safe for human consumption.”
The complete report is available on the county’s website. The results will be shared with participants via a follow-up letter and social media, council heard.
In 2027, residents will again be encouraged to submit sample to assess if there has been any changes in local water quality in the South McDougal Flats area area, she said.
Through motion council received the water testing project report as information with no other action to be taken.
