Frustration over water

Photo: Contributed

Spallumcheen residents living on a tainted water source packed Hullcar Hall Thursday night to hear from six provincial ministry officials on what was being done to fix the problem.

“I got the sense that the ministry representatives had come to tell us what we need rather than ask us what we want,” said Al Price, spokesperson for the Save the Hullcar Aquifer Team. “They were trying to educate us country bumpkins.”

Frustration boiled over at the meeting as the crowd shouted out “no” when officials said testing to be conducted to pinpoint the source of nitrate contamination in the water could take a year.

“There was uproar when they told us testing would take a year,” said Price. “To a person, everyone said 'no that's not acceptable.'

“Some people really let loose,” he added. “I don't think they left with any misconceptions about how frustrated we are.”

Price said an agriculture team is putting together a comprehensive list of alternative technologies and manure management processes that a local dairy farm could consider.

Locals blame the farm for the nitrate levels, pointing to effluent spraying on its field, however Interior Health has said there is no proof the farm is the source.

Ministry officials also stated they were putting together the parameters of studies they want to consider conducting to try to find the source of the nitrates.

More than 200 people get their water from the Hullcar aquifer, provided by the Steele Springs Waterworks District, which is the subject of two Interior Health drinking water advisories related to nitrate contamination.

By the end of the meeting, which lasted over three hours, officials had promised to to do their best to speed up the process, said Price.