Well Water Testing In Vanderhoof Noteworthy For All

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

At the end of last month, Northern Health issued an advisory to residents living in Vanderhoof who draw their drinking water from private wells that they should have their water quality tested, after a well service company found 20 on the community’s north side had higher than acceptable levels of arsenic. (click here for previous story)

NH Public Health Protection spokesperson Bruce Gaunt says the situation in Vanderhoof is noteworthy for all residents in the Central Interior who draw their drinking water from deep wells.  Gaunt says, "The message is: if you have a deep well and you don’t know the water quality of it, you should arrange to have it tested."

Arsenic occurs naturally in some soil and Gaunt says that appears to be the case on the north side of Vanderhoof.  He says there’s no evidence of an industrial or agricultural waste deposit being the culprit.  "What we’ve noticed in the Central Interior is we have pockets of arsenic that show up in ground water and until they’re actually officially discovered they’re not really known, so this is (one) reason we wanted to get the information out."

Another reason, Gaunt says, is that not everyone may be aware the maximum acceptable arsenic level was reduced this past summer from 25 micrograms per litre to 10 to bring Canada in-line with World Health Organization guidelines.  He says just 15 years ago, that acceptable level was 50, so this downward trend is in recognition of the health affects of arsenic being appreciated more and more.

"These are incredibly low levels, they’re parts per billion, so we’re not talking about huge toxicity events - someone gets poisoned with arsenic and is found dead on the kitchen table - what we’re finding is that when you get these very, very low levels exposed over time (it) puts you at risk for cancer, particularly skin cancer in this case." 

Gaunt says since the advisory went out to Vanderhoof residents, he’s received several calls from people seeking information and some calls from those who’ve had their well water tested and want to confirm the status of their wells.

He says testing ranges in price from approximately $30-dollars, if you just want arsenic levels tested, to around $200-dollars for a full scan.  Gaunt is advising residents throughout the Central Interior who want contact information for testing labs to call their local health unit office.

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