Saltwater intrusion
Three Rivers plans to meet with Cardigan residents on water issues
Three Rivers councillors wants to get to the bottom of why some Cardigan residents are starting to see saltwater seep into their wells and how it can be fixed.
With several options available to address the issue, including one estimated at about $1.9 million, council decided during Wednesday’s meeting to bring the issue to residents for further discussion. No date has been set. Coun. Cindy MacLean said many Cardigan residents she spoke to during the election campaign felt they hadn’t been heard by council or the province on the issue.
“Nobody’s really taken an interest in this,” said MacLean, who suggested meeting with residents. “(So, we can) let them know council is involved. This is quite a serious issue.” Coun. Gerard Holland agreed. “We’re not worth our weight in water if we don’t provide an ear to these people, at the very least,” he said.
A water supply feasibility study conducted by Joose Environmental, and authorized by Cardigan council prior to amalgamation, said about 10-15 houses located along the north side of the village adjacent to Cardigan River are experiencing an apparent saltwater intrusion in their private wells.
The study suggested several possible solutions. The most expensive option, estimated at $1.9 million, would be to establish a municipal well field for the area. The next option would be a central well to supply just the affected area, which would be about $225,000.
The third option would be on-site water quality treatment, which would cost about $5,500 plus an additional $13,500 per affected residence. That price could also increase if any affected wells are found to be in such poor condition that they need to be replaced.
The final option was to create several combined well systems that could each serve three to four residences at a cost of about $10,000 to $12,000 each.
Because all of Cardigan’s residential and business wells and septic systems are privately owned, there were also questions on council’s responsibility for the issue and the precedent it may set.
Coun. Alan Munro questioned whether the proximity of the homes to the water was contributing to the issue.
He also asked whether council would cover similar issues in the future if they arise in other areas.
Previously in the discussion, Mayor Ed MacAulay posed the question “is this the individual’s responsibility? Or is it an issue that’s going to keep surfacing until we deal with it?” MacAulay said the village has also had some long unresolved issues with septic tanks in the area and that around 2011 some residents were pushing for a long-term study on the town’s sewage and water. MacAulay was in favour of the study at the time but said the council of the day decided against it because many residents were split on the issue.
“There are residents in the village who would really like to get this whole issue of water and sewage solved… There are other residents who don’t want any part of it,” said MacAulay. While he was unsure of the right solution to the issue, MacAulay said he wanted residents to have a voice on it.