Interior Health is warning thousands of well users in the region to take precautions to make sure their water is safe from contaminates, including E. coli. The spring runoff has begun and it has the potential to foul well water.
Health officials are reminding private well owners that as the snow melts, runoff can find its way into well water — and bring contaminants with it.
“Those infectious pathogens, you only need very small amounts of them to get sick, and it can be very serious,” said Ivor Norlin, manager of infrastructure programs for Interior Health.
Officials are urging private well users to access public health information about well safety and take precautions, including water testing and making sure water isn’t pooling around wells.
“Every source is different. That’s really what the take-home message is,” Norlin said. “The more people are able to inform themselves and think about their wells the safer they are going to be.”
Officials say some private well users aren’t doing enough testing. Norlin said some have told him the last time they sampled their well water was when they moved onto the property. Norlin said that is not sufficient, adding well owners should testing regularly to make sure their water is safe.