A routine chemistry analysis was discussed by mayor and council at a recent meeting, but was deemed not a priority.
At a District of Fort St. James council meeting, an email by Environmental Health Officer Greg Tone explaining some of the results to Randy Hand was brought forward for discussion.
The chemical analysis, a more detailed water test than the weekly water-borne disease testing, looks at metals and other compounds in the water and uses guidelines established nationwide.
“There’s nothing in here that puts us into any real dangerous territory but there are some areas where there are some slight concerns,” said Kevin Crook, chief administrative officer for the district, at the council meeting.
Arsenic, one of the health-related parameters measured in the test, resulted in a seven micrograms per litre result, which does fall within the required safety guidelines.
The maximum acceptable concentration for the cancer-causing metal is 10 micrograms per litre.
The officer did note these results are similar to what is found in Vanderhoof and Burns Lake, neither of which treats their water for arsenic. Vanderhoof does however have a water treatment plant which treats for iron. Burns Lake uses chloride treatment on their water.
Two other parameters which exceed aesthetic objectives (AO), which are related to how pleasant the water is to use or drink and not related to health, are the iron content and turbidity.
The turbidity is likely linked directly to the iron content in the water, which is three times the limit set for AO.
“We know that the iron is there, we’ve known that since we went to the aquifer,” said Mayor Rob MacDougall. “At some point if we can scrape up three, four or five million dollars then we can put a treatment plant in, but unfortunately there’s higher priorities.”
Manganese is also elevated, but does not exceed the aesthetic objectives.
The chemical analysis is not done on a frequent basis because under the Drinking Water Protection Act it is not required and with deep groundwater, the levels do not normally fluctuate much over time.
The last test available on electronic records was in 2007 and Fort St. James water had an arsenic concentration of 6.43 micrograms per litre at the time.
According to information on the United States Environmental Protection Agency website, the tasteless, odourless semi-metal arsenic’s non-cancer effects include thickening and discolouration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in hands and feet, partial paralysis and blindness.
Arsenic has been linked to bladder, skin, lung, kidney, nasal, liver and prostate cancers.
