Information & resources for those relying on private drinking water systems in Alberta
Shayla Watson, Watershed Science Technician
Where does your drinking water come from? Chances are, you are like most Albertans, and you get your drinking water from a public municipal system! These systems intake water from a source like a lake, river, or groundwater aquifer, treat the water to ensure it is safe for human consumption, and then distribute it to those connected to this water supply. These public systems are regulated by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas or Alberta Health to ensure they are fit for human consumption. While most people in our province get their drinking water from a municipal system, what about the remainder of our population, where does their water come from?
Spoiler alert, the answer is most likely a private water well. While water wells are the most common type of private drinking water system, which is a system that does not provide drinking water to the public and instead serves a privately owned residence, things like dugouts and cisterns are also sometimes used but not as commonly. Nearly a quarter of Albertans, including most of the province’s rural population, rely on a private groundwater well for their drinking water!
Within the Athabasca Watershed, it can be estimated that 15-25% of our population, over 25,000 people, rely on these groundwater systems as their primary drinking water source. Despite how many people rely on a private drinking water system, since they are private, there is no regulation on these systems and therefore things like maintenance and testing are the responsibility of the owner. This lack of regulation also means there is very little information about these systems, like how many wells are actively used for drinking water and how they are distributed throughout the province.
Earlier this year, the Athabasca Watershed Council conducted an online survey to try and get more information about these private drinking water systems and how people interact with them. While we did not get as many results as we would have liked, the results confirmed that water wells were the most common type of private drinking water system among those who responded. One thing that we did learn from this survey was that, while people are testing their water, many are not testing their water as often as is recommended by public health agencies.
Additionally, several survey respondents with access to a drinking water supply opted to purchase bottled water for drinking, as they preferred the taste of it over the taste that their water supply had. There were also several private well users that had some kind of water treatment installed (reverse osmosis and distillers were the two treatment types mentioned) to help with both palatability and potability of their drinking water, as things like “sodium taste” were a common issue with these groundwater systems.
Here is a screenshot showing some of the Total Dissolved Solids in our drinking water well on our farm near Fawcett, Alberta. These results are from a water chemical test done through Alberta Health Services Environment Public Health (more information on those tests below).
As you can see, our sodium levels are quite high, so we also have an issue with our well water having a salty taste. To help with this salty water, we have a distiller, as seen in the picture below. When I was a kid, I would get frustrated when someone would make ice with water from the tap rather than from the distiller, because the salt would go to the surface of the ice cube and would make them salty!
Here is a picture of our water distiller in our laundry room (left) and a reverse osmosis system installed under a sink (right), both common methods used to treat water at home. There are also smaller, countertop versions of a water distiller that are commonly used as well.
Through this survey, we realized there is an issue with a lack of information surrounding these systems. For example, most people aren’t testing their water as often as is recommended, because they don’t know what the recommended testing schedule is! If you rely on a private drinking water system, you must understand how to properly maintain your system because, as mentioned earlier, the responsibility falls entirely on the owner of that private system. This includes things like ensuring your water system is safe following any kind of emergency or equipment failure.
The remainder of this post will discuss some of the different resources available to people relying on private drinking water systems, as well as some steps people can take to ensure their water system remains safe and reliable.
Water Testing:
One of the best ways to ensure your drinking water system is safe is by regularly testing your water. Alberta Health Services Environment Public Health recommends that you test your water two times per year for bacteria (this tests for things like total coliforms and E. coli bacteria), and every three years for chemicals and trace metals (this tests for things like sodium, pH, iron, etc.). This testing is available to those who rely on a private drinking water system for free through Alberta Health Services Environment Public Health (will not test water samples from town or city/municipal water sources, will not test samples related to things like agriculture, real estate, or business).
If your water may not be safe for consumption, a public health inspector will call to let you know. Otherwise, results for tests (especially if doing a chemical and trace metal test) can take up to 8 weeks. It is worth noting that, especially for the bacteria tests, there is a very short window in which these samples are viable, so make sure you keep the sample on ice inside of a cooler and drop it off as soon as possible (sample cannot be more than 24 hours old)! For more information about water testing in Alberta, visit this link: Testing your drinking water in Alberta. You can find more information about where you can pick up and drop off the water testing bottles here: Environmental Public Health – Water Sample Bottle Pick-up and Drop-off – InformAlberta.ca. Water sampling can also be done through a commercial lab for a fee, and you can search online for things like “water well testing in Alberta” to find a service that does this near you!
To see a video of what this process looks like in Alberta, be sure to check out the video that Ethan Zapach, a Watershed Science Technician with the Athabasca Watershed Council, made about his experience testing his water: How to Test Well Water | A Simple Guide
Water Well Drilling Report:
Another great tool that can help those relying on a private well specifically is the Alberta Water Well Information Database. This portal allows you to access the original drilling report for your water well! These drilling reports can be useful to have in case of an emergency with your water system but also contain useful information about your well, like your well I.D. and well depth (which is required for the
Alberta Health water testing mentioned above), how deep the casing is, what type of substrate your well is dug into, and more!
Here is one section of the drilling report for our well! You might notice that the static water level is 0 feet, which can be confusing, but this is just because we are on a flowing artesian well! This is a well that is tapped into an aquifer with enough pressure to push the water out of the well and above the ground without using a pump. The static water level is the distance between ground level and the level of water in your well when it is “resting” or not being pumped, meaning the higher your static water level is, the more energy you will need to use to pump water.
Disinfecting Wells & Cisterns:
Disinfecting your well or cistern may be necessary if your system becomes contaminated in the event of something like a flood or if your bacteria test comes back positive. For cisterns, you also need to disinfect your cistern every time it gets cleaned! This disinfection process is often referred to as “shock chlorination” and involves adding a concentrated chlorine solution to the water in your well casing or cistern, flushing that chlorine solution through your water system, and then allowing that solution to sit in your well or cistern and throughout your water system for a certain period.
If you experience a flood or think your well may have been contaminated with surface water, test your water to know if you need to disinfect your system! For more information about disinfecting a cistern, click here: Disinfecting a Cistern, and for more information about shock chlorinating a well, click here: Shock chlorinating private wells.
Additional resources:
Private Well Class: This is based out of the University of Illinois, but has great resources about private wells, including webinars (all past webinars are recorded and available for viewing whenever) and a Private Well Class that helps homeowners better understand how to care for their water well.
FireSmart – Home Ignition Zone: Highlights how you can protect buildings, like the ones that house your water system, from being impacted in the event of a fire.
AEPHIN Domestic Well Water Quality: Allows you to explore water quality test data collected from private domestic wells across the province.
Working Well Program: Provides Alberta well owners with information and tools about how to properly care for their wells, including through their workshops. They have started offering their Fall 2024 Working Well Workshops, click here to find a workshop near you!
Groundwater Observation Well Network: A network of groundwater wells owned by the Alberta Government that monitor groundwater levels, some of which are annually sampled for water quality analysis.
