Is your water safe? Provincial lab gave old answers
When Dana Whiteknecht tested her well water at the University of New Brunswick’s designated laboratory in Fredericton, she got a report back that confirmed what she could already see — enough manganese to contribute to brown stains in her water tanks.
She received no warnings about the potential health risks to children attending her St. John’s daycare.
“They assured me it was just aesthetics, it was OK,” Whiteknecht said.
By federal standards, this was not good.
Manganese levels in her drinking water were nearly eight times higher than the limit established in 2019 by Health Canada to protect the brain development of toddlers and formula-fed infants.
New Brunswick matched that standard just last week, when the province released updated drinking water guidelines to align with Health Canada.
Provincial Environment Minister Gilles Lepage said he could not explain the years-long delay, as he only got a cabinet post after the 2024 elections.
Health Canada’s guidelines are not legally binding on provinces. And the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council, established as a Crown corporation, has not always referenced them in well-water reports.
For at least the past year, New Brunswickers who dropped off their water samples directly to council laboratories would receive a red warning if their water exceeded Canadian drinking water guidelines.
Same water, different results
Last month, CBC News took water from a residential well known to have high manganese and transported half the sample directly to the Research and Productivity Council laboratories in Fredericton.
The other half was submitted to the Service New Brunswick office in Burton, which then shipped the samples to council laboratories.
The council lab charged $213 and produced a report with a health-risk warning.
Service New Brunswick charged $209, then sent the sample to the same laboratory, but the well owner received no warning.
LePage said the discrepancy has been corrected.
“We will now have just one regulatory system, so it won’t vary from national to provincial,” LePage said.
“So now the report that comes, whether it is a private well or a municipal well operated well, the report will be the same.”
Size and scope of the manganese problem
In New Brunswick, 40 percent of the population gets drinking water from private wells.
And based on historical data, the province says up to 30 per cent of the estimated 120,000 private wells in New Brunswick may have elevated manganese levels.
In early December, CBC News asked to speak to a provincial scientist familiar with the properties and characteristics of groundwater mapping, but none was provided.
However, Matthew Alexander, a senior environmental scientist who specializes in hydrogeology and is not employed by the province, said manganese is a common element in the local geology.
The mineral leaches out of the soil, he said, and the amount in private wells can vary with years and season. That’s why regular testing is recommended, he said.
“Maybe when they bought their house or drilled their well, their concentrations were lower,” Alexander said. “But over time, those concentrations can increase.”
Look The owner of St. John’s Daycare says he was not warned about her good health:
It happened in Sussex. Manganese levels in one municipal well increased tenfold between 2019 and 2023.
The city paid $350,000 for a treatment system that failed to fix the problem, so the well was taken out of production, said Jason Thorn, the city’s chief administrative officer.
CBC News checked with water engineers in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton and asked what guidelines they use. They all said their municipal water is treated for manganese and is in compliance with Health Canada.
In the meantime, the millions of New Brunswickers who get their drinking water from wells will remain responsible for testing and safety.
Health Canada says homeowners with health risk levels of manganese should take steps to install a certified treatment system.
The price of those systems can vary, said Josh Pitcher, sales and service manager for Aerus St. John. One of the least expensive units, which extracts iron, sulfur and manganese, starts at about $1,500, he said.
Whiteneck said she wasn’t going to take any chances with her daycare, even if her lab reports advised her not to take action.
He said he spent about $2,800 to install the treatment system and the water coming out of his tap now has almost zero manganese.
“It’s expensive,” she said. “And I’m concerned right now in this economy that not everyone can afford it or won’t want to do it.”
New Brunswick’s updated drinking water guidelines are now posted on the provincial government’s website. They also now meet Health Canada limits for aluminum, copper, lead, cyanobacterial toxins and pesticides like glyphosate.
