County Residents Urged Not To Drink Water

Alberta Health Services is advising about 6,000 Parkland, Leduc and Sturgeon County residents with private wells to avoid drinking their water after higher than recommended levels of naturally occurring arsenic and manganese were detected. The levels detected don’t present an immediate risk to health, AHS said, but are above acceptable guidelines for drinking water in Canada.

All private well owners and users are urged to submit a sample from their well for free private testing for these trace elements. The advisory does not affect regional and municipal users of water services such as Epcor. “The levels that we are seeing are … slightly higher than what Canadian drinking water guideline levels are, but we don’t have an immediate cause for concern,” AHS Edmonton zone medical health officer Dr. Christopher Sikora said. “But it’s best to protect your own health, so it’s better to have your water tested.”

Free trace-element testing can be done through the AHS Environmental Public Health offices. An email will be sent to households in the affected areas to remind residents to have their well water tested.

AHS discovered the elevated levels after routine monitoring, Sikora said.