With the annual spring melt underway, Interior Health is advising all homeowners with private wells to take appropriate steps to safeguard their drinking water.
When spring runoff flows into a well and mixes with the source water, there is significant risk of bacterial contamination.
Homeowners should:
• Consider whether their well is equipped to ensure their tap water is clean and safe.
• Ensure their wells are properly protected from flooding.
• Take appropriate water treatment measures and test their well water regularly to prevent water-borne illnesses caused by contamination of water with harmful bacteria such as E.coli.
For information related to well water testing, please visit https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/well-water-testing.
The list of laboratories approved by the B.C. Provincial Health Officer for drinking water microbiology testing is available at: http://lmlabs.phsa.ca/Documents/PHO%20Approved%20Laboratory%20List.pdf.
The Interior Health website’s Drinking Water page also has a variety of information related to clean, safe, and reliable tap water, which can be found here: https://www.interiorhealth.ca/YourEnvironment/DrinkingWater/Pages/default.aspx.
Interior Health is committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and providing a wide range of quality health-care services to more than 740,000 people living across B.C.’s vast interior. For more information, visit www.interiorhealth.ca, follow us on Twitter @Interior_Health, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/interiorhealth.ca.
