Lambton Public Health reminds residents to regularly test water wells
For those who live in the city, clean water is something you may take for granted.
But families who get their water from a well have to check the quality of the water several times a year.
“We try to educate our private well owners each year about the importance of testing their wells. You know, their wells, they're responsible for them. So if they're not testing them on a regular basis, they have no idea if there's any issues going on with them,” explained Lori Lucas, health protection supervisor for Lambton Public Health.
The month of April typically sees heavy rainfall and sometimes flooding, and those high water levels can be a problem if the structural integrity of the well has been compromised.
“So if the well pipe itself maybe isn't sealed properly, like if there is some cracks along the top, that sort of thing with the potential for that water runoff...it could be agricultural runoff,” said Lucas.
Health units across Ontario offer free water testing services for well owners, but a passage in the Auditor General’s report from 2023 suggests cutting the free service gradually in the coming years.
"I would disagree with the Auditor General, and I assume they probably live in an urban area that doesn't require water testing. If they were in the country, they'd have a different outlook,” said Crispin Colvin, a director with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture for Lambton and Middlesex counties.
The cost of testing would then fall on the property owner, and according to Colvin could add up if multiple tests are required when a problem is found.
"It's not just the cost of $150 roughly, or whatever it may be at a private lab. But if people stop testing because they don't want to spend that extra $150, then families will get sick," he explained.
In 2023, more than 300 tests were done in Lambton County with 67 of them coming back adverse, multiple tests by the same owner are included in the results.
For the time being the process is quite simple, and according to Lucas kits are available at local health units.
“There's different sites that you can pick up your bottle locally and again with other public health units, take the sample, gives you instructions attached to the bottle itself on what to do,” she said.
Testing multiple times is necessary until a clean sample is repeated to avoid bacteria like E-coli from getting into the system.
Bacteria testing and water sampling kits are available for free. Pick-up and drop-off locations include:
- Lambton Public Health, 160 Exmouth St., Point Edward — Monday to Thursday: 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Friday: 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. — phone: 519-383-8331 or 1-800-667-1839
- Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital, 450 Blanche St., Petrolia — Monday to Wednesday: 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. — phone: 519-882-4325
Rural residents may be closer to:
- London Public Health Lab, 1200 Commissioners Rd. E.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Black youth face multiple barriers in accessing mental health care, experts say
Black youth in Canada face multiple barriers in getting access to mental health services — and health-care providers can make the situation more difficult, experts say.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.