Hullcar Residents Want Answers

Representatives from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture will meet with residents in the Hullcar Valley Friday to outline results of tests taken to measure high nitrate levels in the aquifer affecting their drinking water.

The issue has been front and centre for over three years and the tests were expected to help determine what was causing the problem.

Brian Upper the President of the Steele Springs Water District says they are hoping for two things to come out of this meeting.

“The reason for the studies that have been going on up there is to find the sources, source or sources, that’s number one. Once they’ve done that, curtail it. Stop it from getting any worse.”

Upper says visually the water looks fine, but the high nitrates are a serious health danger.

“We know the risks. The risks are definitely to do with the problems that can occur with various organs of the body. One is the blood stream that nitrates do interfere with oxygen transfer within the blood.”

Upper says for over three years their water has been undrinkable and they want to know the source.

“That’s the first step, and after that what are you going to do about it. That’s the government’s thing because they allowed this to happen in the first place. They allowed this farm to come up here despite the risk factors, and after it was established they didn’t monitor it.”

Upper says it’s imperative the Province has a strategy presented to correct the nitrate problem.

“We’re hoping it’s more than just informational and say okay we found this and that, but that they will find the source or sources of the nitrate and have some kind of action plan ready to go to deal with it.”

The nitrate levels sit at their highest level ever right now at 15.5 parts per million.