Water woes

Safety of springs questioned

When Bernie Myatt heard that the water from the Greenhill spring was contaminated, he wanted to let others know about the dangers.

“A lot of people go there to get their water,” he said. “It’s very serious.”

The Westville resident was told by a friend who had the water tested, that it contained E. coli.

The News collected samples from the Greenhill spring, as well as a spring in Blue Mountain, and had them tested at a provincial laboratory via the Aberdeen Hospital. Another spring in the Mount Thom area was not tested.

While E. coli was not detected, test results from samples taken on Jan. 26 in Greenhill and Jan. 27 in Blue Mountain show coliform bacteria in both.

“The fact that it tested positive means it’s not to be considered safe,” said Nova Scotia Environment media relations advisor Heather Fairbairn.

In general, the provincial government advises people not to use water from roadside springs. “Nova Scotia Environment does not regulate or conduct water quality testing on natural springs or roadside wells,” she said.

She said studies of roadside springs in Nova Scotia found that about 90 per cent had total coliforms present and 20 per cent had Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria present.

“Using a natural or roadside spring as a source of water is not a safe option. It is very important the community doesn’t use roadside springs for drinking water. If someone chooses to use water from a roadside spring, they do so at their own risk.”

Fairbairn said in Nova Scotia, Canadian drinking water quality guidelines are followed, and no amount of coliform is acceptable.

“Our message is, to avoid illness you have to avoid drinking the water ( from these springs).”

Total coliform bacteria are used as an indicator of the general quality of the water and whether drinking water is potable.

Fairbairn said the only way to be safe is to drink water from a properly constructed and maintained private well that’s regularly tested, or from a municipal source. Municipalities treat the water before distribution and consumption by consumers, and regularly monitor the quality of the water.

A natural spring is a place where groundwater flows to the surface and is released from the ground. Before modern welldrilling equipment was invented, natural springs were commonly used as a source of drinking water. But, the provincial government said natural and roadside springs are not considered to be a reliable, safe water supply.

According to information on the Environment Department’s website, while many people believe spring water is pure, natural, better tasting and free of contaminants when compared with private wells or local municipal water supplies, these opinions aren’t scientifically valid. Groundwater may be relatively pristine, but as it makes its way to the surface it can become contaminated.

The main source of pathogens in drinking water is through contamination from human or animal waste, from improperly treated septic and sewage discharges, leaching of animal manure, storm water runoff and domestic animals or wildlife.”

The sources of contaminants in natural springs are numerous. Animal defecation is but one example. Naturally-occurring elements in our geology, temperatures, heavy rainfall and water run-off also can affect ground and surface water supplies,”said Fairbairn.

Water in a natural spring can also become contaminated when man-made products such as gasoline, oil, road salts and chemicals leach into surface water or groundwater.

“Different things can affect ground and surface water supplies at different times of the year. In the absence of treatment, we could never say that the water from natural springs is safe to drink.”

According to the Department of Environment, historical results indicate that the water quality of roadside springs fluctuates.

At different times, coliform bacteria can be absent or present at the same spring.

Pathogens can be destroyed by boiling water for at least one minute, but this will not remove chemical contaminants, said Fairbairn. “Even with boiling, in the absence of regular testing and treatment we could never say that the water is safe to drink.”