Researchers ask: Is Alberta well water safe to drink?

As many as 400,000 people around Alberta rely on well water, but only a handful of them know whether their water is safe to drink or whether it’s been compromised by livestock waste and other contaminants.

Researchers in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine are working with Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab) and the federal government’s FoodNet Canada to test 100 wells and check samples from hundreds more that have been found to have the bacteria E. coli.

Rural residents are advised to have their well water tested four times a year, but few do. “We’re trying to better understand the risk associated with untreated well water,” says Sylvia Checkley, assistant professor in UCVM’s Department of Ecosystem and Public Health and the lead on the study. “There’s been little research done on the actual quality of that water with respect to microbiological contaminants and viruses.”

Runoff and spring rains bring contaminants

There are seasonal effects on the quality of well water — the most significant is in the spring or early summer when runoff and heavy rains can cause contaminants to seep into wells. And there are other safety concerns as well.

“Depending on your well there could also be contamination from biofilms developing inside the system, says Checkley. “It’s recommended that people do routine well maintenance and they shock their wells, all these things have an effect as well.”

Checkley, along with colleagues David Hall, Susan Cork, Marie Louie and Jess Nakaska, will study 1,200 well water samples with E. coli that were collected between 2008 and 2012, as well as spend the next three years assessing other wells for viruses, E. coli 0157, similar organisms and antimicrobial resistance.

Well owners will complete detailed questionnaires about their property and animal husbandry practices. “When we get to wells that are contaminated, we’re going to follow them over time to understand how they’re affected by any seasonal changes,” says Checkley.

Linking health of people, animals and environment

The study is taking a "one health" perspective — understanding that the health of people, animals and the environment are all linked. And the results may encourage well owners to get their wells tested, for free, through the provincial lab.

“We will be able to look at risk factors associated with contaminated wells and give the information directly back to the well owner,” Checkley says. “Hopefully the results will affect policy as far as what’s done in the future to best represent the safety of the well owner.”