Success Story: Protecting Groundwater Through Public Education
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority

 

 

A few years ago, Saskatchewan Watershed Authority (SWA) began a movement to increase public awareness of groundwater issues, and water wells in particular. At the same time, says Lyndon Hicks, Articling Agrologist with SWA, the Authority recognized that good information was scarce. “There was really no publication with accurate information. The problem with old wells is that they go directly into groundwater, so if contaminants are running off they have a direct pathway. And old wells with grass grown overtop are a safety risk for people and Iivestock, and a risk for machinery.”

 

To begin the process of putting together a thorough, accurate, and easy-to-understand public information guide on aquifer management and well decommissioning, SWA applied for and received funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development in Saskatchewan (CARDS) program, which is delivered by the Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan.

 

The first step was in gathering more information. SWA devised a pilot project that would offer more precise statistics on abandoned wells and give a clearer picture of the level of public knowledge relating to groundwater. The pilot project involved going door-to-door to identify wells located on the Yorkton area aquifers. The area was confined to four rural municipalities (Orkney, Wallace, Cana, and Saltcoats).

 

Based on the information gathered, the SWA quickly identified an information gap – as many as 25-35% of wells had never been recorded in the provincial well database. “There are thousands of them in the province,” explains Hicks. “Back when agriculture really boomed, every quarter section basically had a farmstead with a well. As agriculture changed and farming operations became bigger, the number of farms decreased, but those old farmsteads wells stayed in place.”

 

The final publication, “A Landowner’s Guide to Water Well Management”, was distributed to regional SWA offices for dispersal and made available at trade shows, work shops, and other events across the province.

 

The CARDS funding also supported a number of educational field days. Hicks says that usually they would be held at an actual abandoned well that a farmer wished to be decommissioned. “We would educate people on aquifers, contamination, and decommissioning. Often, the decommissioning process involves using bentonite, a clay mineral which, when it comes in contact with water, expands to ten times its size to form a kind of plug.

 

However, not all wells are the same. There are different specifications and processes for different wells to make sure all goals are accomplished.”

 

From 2005 through 2007, SWA held over 25 field days, and received over 500 attendees. Hicks believes that the informational push brought significant attention to forgotten wells and the need for decommissions, wellhead sitting, and well management to help preserve the long-term sustainability of source water. “Programs, environmental farm plans, media coverage at field days – all of them have helped. There has definitely been an increase in awareness from three or fours years ago.”

 

The project also spurred the formation of a number of smaller watershed groups. Like SWA, these new organizations encourage environmentally-friendly practices and aquifer management, and assist farmers in finding funding to decommission their wells. “It’s not really expensive,” insists Hicks. “There is funding available to farmers through the Canada-Saskatchewan Environmental Farm Plan Program. And Saskatchewan Watershed Authority has top-up money, so they receive about 75% of the money back.”

 

Hicks says that SWA continues to work to get the information to the landowners who need it. “We’re continuing to educate people on aquifers, how groundwater contamination can occur, and on processes to minimize the risk.”

 

 

 

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