The water quality in some Harrietsfield wells is not acceptable, according to Halifax Liberal MP Andy Fillmore.
Addressing the water quality in wells affected by the shut-down RDM construction and demolition site is one of Fillmore’s election promises. He said the federal government can’t lead the file but he’s open to being “invited into the process” by provincial and municipal governments.
READ MORE: Harrietsfield residents ‘skeptical’ about cleanup orders for former recycling site
“We hear from residents that the water is discoloured, that it has a bad odour, that it doesn’t taste like water, so that is not a great state of affairs to be in, in 2016 in Halifax,” Fillmore said.
“So I don’t think that’s acceptable.”
Concerns around the water quality in some wells dates back more than a decade. The provincial government has identified at least eight wells that are affected by contaminants from the site. Cleanup orders were issued to two numbered companies who used to operate the site last week, however, the residents said they are “skeptical” the order will be acted on.
Government documents obtained by lawyers representing the residents showed unsafe levels of arsenic and uranium for some wells in letters sent in July 2015.
However, the government and residents remain in a dispute about whether the water is safe to drink.
Environment Department spokesperson Heather Fairbairn said the eight properties affected by the contaminated site treated water that the water is “within health standards” post-treatment. However, Ecojustice lawyer Kaitlyn Mitchell said her understanding is that two of the affected wells don’t have treatment systems.
Setting aside the debate around the health impacts, Fillmore said concerns around the discolouration, smell, and odour of the water should be enough of an impetus to act.
“If people don’t feel safe drinking the water, and if they’re challenged with the taste and odour issues, then I think they deserve help and its a reasonable thing for them to ask,” Fillmore said.
Permanent fix discussed but not acted on
As early as last summer, documents show provincial government staff discussed extending Halifax’s waterline to residents affected by groundwater contamination at a nearby construction and demolition site.
The document, obtained by Mitchell, shows the discussion came up during a meeting with unnamed representatives of one of the companies facing the cleanup order, in July 2015.
The minutes show someone raised the idea of the municipal waterline being extended, and a representative of 3076525 Nova Scotia Limited indicated it “would entertain a cost sharing arrangement.”
Extending the municipal waterline “would solve the human health issues,” reads another statement attributed to a department staff person.
A search of the company in the Registry of Joint Stocks lists an address associated with Dexter Construction in Bedford. Calls to the numbered company’s lawyer Robert Grant and to Dexter Construction were not returned.
While the option to extend the waterline was discussed provincially, at a municipal level, it is not on the city’s priority list of projects for Halifax Water.
“This is not something that is under consideration at this time,” Shaune MacKinlay, a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Savage, said.
Asked about the comments in the document, Fairbairn said it’s not the environment department’s role to ask the municipality to extend the water line.
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