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Spallumcheen seeks water tests

Council voted Monday to write the Ministry of Environment and ask for the nitrate testing information for the Hullcar aquifers.

Spallumcheen officials are demanding full disclosure over ongoing water quality concerns.

Council voted Monday to write the Ministry of Environment and ask for the nitrate testing information for the Hullcar aquifers.

“The Steele Springs Water District has been requesting the information for some time,” said Coun. Todd York.

“They aren’t receiving them. It’s appropriate that we should request them in a formal way.”

The Steele Springs Water District has been under a water quality advisory since March 2014 due to high nitrate levels.

The testing results are related to ministry decisions to allow effluent to be discharged in the area.

Some residents say the source of high nitrates in the water is related to dairy operations.

“It’s information that we should be privy to,” said York.

“If they (ministry) are trying to determine what the cause is and they are trying to resolve the issue, the information shouldn’t be held back.”

Spallumcheen council’s actions is just the latest pressure being placed on the Ministry of Environment.

The Splatsin First Nation recently joined forces with the Save Hullcar Aquifer Team to lobby for water protection.