Three more communities designate wellfields

11/04/2010

The areas supplying Woodstock, Edmundston and Drummond with drinking water have been designated as protected under the Wellfield Protected Area Designation Order Clean Water Act.

New Brunswick has exceptional drinking-water supplies, and it is extremely important that they be protected, said Environment Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney. I commend these communities for taking the necessary steps to ensure that current and future residents have access to clean, safe drinking water.

The Wellfield Protected Area Designation Order, established in 2000, provides appropriate standards for land use within wellfield recharge areas. The designation order places varying controls on the storage of petroleum fuels, persistent solvents (for example, degreasers and dry cleaning solvents), pesticides, fertilizer, road salt and manure. Varying levels of control are placed on manure application, mining and aggregate removal, new sewerage systems, forestry activities, groundwater extraction and groundwater heat pumps.

New Brunswick was the first province in Canada to introduce such comprehensive provincewide protection measures for municipal groundwater supplies, said Blaney.  This program has been recognized nationally and internationally as a leading approach for the protection of drinking water supplies.

Thirty-four wellfields have been designated under the Wellfield Protected Area Designation Order