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Working Well Workshop coming to White Sands

Informative water well management workshop will help residents protect their drinking water
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A diagram of a drilled water well and how it is designed to draw water while keeping out contaminants. Image: Camrose County

A workshop on maintaing a good water supply on rural properties is coming to the region.

The Working Well Workshop, hosted by the County of Stettler, will be held on March 12 at the White Sands Community Hall — about a 40 km drive southeast of Bashaw.

A supper at 5:30 p.m. will be included followed by a discussion running from 6 to 8 p.m.

The workshop is meant to help the nearly 450,000 Albertans that use well water for their households.

“It is a common belief that groundwater comes from fast flowing underground rivers and lakes. This is not true,” the release from Alberta Environment and Parks stated.

“Groundwater is the water that fills the cracks and spaces between soil particles, sand grains and rock. An aquifer is simply a water-bearing zone in the ground where there are interconnected cracks and spaces — sand, gravel or fractured shale — that allows groundwater to move freely.”

Speakers at the workshop will include Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Alberta Environment and Parks, Alberta Health Services and licensed water well drillers.

The workshop will help participants better understand how groundwater works, that there is a connection between surface and groundwater, how to properly maintain a well and how to ensure their water is safe.

Talks will also focus on proper water well siting, construction, maintenance and plugging to protect a well from biofouling and contamination.

“That can save costly repairs and ensure well water yields are sustained over many years,” the release added.

The workshop is free, but people are asked to pre-register by calling the County of Stettler (403-742-4441), sending an email to asb@stettlercounty.ca or going online to https://stettlerwellworkshop.eventbrite.ca.

Since its the workshop’s launch in 2008, it has become a very successful and in-demand program for rural Albertans, providing them with the information and resources they need to manage their water wells and protect Alberta’s groundwater resources.