Alberta Health Services (AHS) has identified elevated arsenic and manganese levels in several private wells near Edmonton.
The manganese levels discovered were in some cases 50 times higher than the recommended provincial guidelines for drinking water, while arsenic levels were at twice the recommended levels. However, these elevated levels are still not cause for immediate concern.
“The levels that we’re seeing, we don’t have immediate cause for concern,” Chris Sikora of AHS told the CBC. “The levels that we’re seeing might have a cause for an individual who drank water over the 75-year lifetime. That being said, it’s best to protect your own health.”
AHS is recommending that private-well users in Leduc, Parkland, and Sturgeon Counties have their wells tested, and the province is offering free one-time testing.
