For decades, residents in Beaconia, Man. have been relying on an artesian well for their drinking water, but they now fear the province is preparing to turn off the tap.
Nearly every day since he was a child, Shane Thomas has been coming to the Beaconia well to get drinking water.
“I grew up on this. My kids grew up on this. I had it tested. It’s the best of the best,” he said, as he placed a pail under the ever-faithful spout of water running up from an underground river 65 feet below.
Thomas was just a toddler in 1963, when his father helped drill the artesian well in Beaconia. He still remembers when they breached the underground water source, sending water soaring into the sky.
“Water sprayed up just over the trees,” he said. “It’s been running ever since.”
He said this well supplies water for drinking and cooking to hundreds of residents in the area. But he’s worried the tap may soon be turned off.
The province ordered the Rural Municipality of St. Clements to seal the well by September, citing its uncontrolled flow and deteriorating infrastructure.
A provincial spokesperson told CTV News the well is in very poor condition and poses a risk to the aquifer and public safety.
“It’s well past its best before date, and we want to make sure that all Manitobans have clean drinking water,” said Manitoba’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes, adding there are also concerns over the well’s efficiency.
“There’s actually 11 million litres that gets lost because it doesn’t have the updated technologies that new wells would have.”
He said his department is now working with the RM of St. Clements to find new sources of water for the community when the well is closed this fall.
Deepak Joshi, the CAO for St. Clements, said the rural municipality is looking at options to continue providing access to the water but noted it must follow provincial regulations.
“We’ve been in negotiations with the province to see what we can do,” he said. “If we seal the well, can we drill a new well in the same location? What are the requirements when the new well is put in place?”
He said those discussions are ongoing. To keep the public informed, he said the municipality created a web page specially dedicated to the Beaconia Well. He encouraged residents to keep an eye on the page.
“I think it’s a mistake,” said Thomas, when asked about the order to seal the well. “We’ve been in the area for so long that I’ve seen proof of the good of it, and I haven’t seen any bad.”
When asked about the concerns from residents like Thomas, Moyes said he is open to hearing from Manitobans.
“You don’t always know what water is safe, and ultimately this comes down to the safety of Manitobans.”
