January 30, 2008
Journal Pioneer

Bedeque-area residents resting easier on nitrate levels as samples come in below threshold print this article

Residents of Central Bedeque have received some good news.

Tests of water taken from 55 homes were within the acceptable Canadian drinking water guidelines of 10 milligrams per litre (mg/l).

That's the word from Earl Smith, a councillor on Central Bedeque Community Council and one of three people collecting samples from homes and gathering information on questionnaires.

There are approximately 175 people living in the small community.

January 14, 2008

KINKORA — People landed at the Kanata Club with their own beverages on the weekend.
They hoped to drink without fear.

The Province and Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association (BBEMA) processed over 400 drinking water samples at a nitrate-testing clinic in Kinkora. It's part of a series across P.E.I.

Canadian drinking water guidelines set the maximum acceptable nitrate level at 10 milligrams/litre.

January 9, 2008

CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI -- After a strong show of interest from Islanders attending drinking water testing clinics, the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry is adding a second round of seven clinics offering free tests for water nitrate content.

The clinics bring the analytical capacity of the department’s water-testing specialists to communities around the province, making testing simple and convenient. People curious about the nitrate content of their water can simply bring a one-cup sample to their nearest clinic.

Free water testing clinics set up in P.E.I. are showing much lower levels of nitrates in drinking water than suggested by a study released in the spring.

The joint federal-provincial study suggested as many as one in five wells in some parts of P.E.I. could have levels of nitrates above Health Canada guidelines, and said the nitrates were coming from fertilizers spread on farm fields. The study prompted the appointment of a nitrates commission to look into the problem, and the government set up free clinics to test drinking water for nitrates.

Prince Edward Islanders are being asked to share their ideas for solutions to reduce nitrate levels in groundwater and surface water.
The Commission on Nitrates in Groundwater is developing a strategy to address the issue of nitrate concentrations in water.
Commission chair Armand DesRoches says they want to hear from Islanders.
“This is an issue that affects all Islanders so the commission believes it is important to invite Islanders to help us find solutions,” said DesRoches.

P.E.I. has announced the members of the commission on nitrates in groundwater.

Chair Armand Desroches will be joined by four other cabinet-appointed members: Chief Darlene Bernard of the Lennox Island First Nation, retired research scientist John MacLeod, chief health officer Dr. Heather Morrison, and Stewart Affleck, a retired potato producer from Bedeque.

The commission will look at the reasons surrounding the province's high nitrate levels and come up with a strategy to deal with the problem. Islanders will be asked to make written submissions and presentations to the commission.

P.E.I.'s commission on nitrates in groundwater needs to hold public forums on the issues, says the local spokesman for the Council of Canadians.

Leo Broderick said the commission has no plans for public forums, and he wants debate to be as open as possible.

"The commission needs to hear the extent of that contamination and how it's impacted on people's lives, and they need to hear from people how it can be resolved," he told CBC News on Monday.

"It cannot be resolved behind closed doors," Broderick, a retired teacher, said in Charlottetown.

Millvale - Islanders can expect to continue drinking polluted groundwater long into the future said the Green Party of PEI. Appointees to the new Commission on Nitrates in Groundwater and the terms of reference for the committee are very clear indicators that government intends to continue supporting industrial potato production and the massive quantities of chemical pesticides and fertilizers this industry depends on.

P.E.I. will create a task force to address rising levels of nitrates in drinking water within the next two weeks, and the government wants potato processors to be involved.

'Cavendish Farms and McCain's [are] not lily white on this.'— Agriculture Minister Jim Bagnall

Agriculture Minister Jim Bagnall said Tuesday that nitrate levels started rising on P.E.I. about 20 years ago, around the time Island farmers started catering to french fry makers like Cavendish Farms and McCain's.

Officials with Irving-owned Cavendish Farms say the company is willing to be part of any scientific study looking at the cause of high nitrate levels in P.E.I.'s groundwater.

'We've actually discouraged the use of high levels of nitrates.'— Mary Keith, Cavendish Farms

"It's certainly an issue that we're very much aware of and we would welcome an opportunity to participate in some scientific investigative work and research," said company spokeswoman Mary Keith.

Following a report which shows high levels of nitrates in one in five wells in some parts of P.E.I., a Harrington woman wants the P.E.I. government to help with her family's drinking water.

'I think it's time that the government did something.'— Jan Clement

Jen Clement's family has found nitrate levels higher than Health Canada's guidelines in their well water for four years. She told CBC News this week buying a treatment system for their water would be too expensive.

"This is what we use for our vegetables, and for everything we cook and of course for drinking," said Clement.

Nitrate levels are high in P.E.I.'s drinking water and will get worse if farming practices don't change, a joint federal and provincial study shows.

'The amount of money for providing water would be doubled.'— Researcher Martine Savard