BRIDGETOWN, N.S. — A new well for Bridgetown, at a cost of just over $800,000, means clean, pure water for local residents.
“Safe drinking water is our priority,” said Annapolis County Warden Timothy Habinski in a media release. “We are making an essential investment in the health and safety of the Bridgetown community by adding this new well to our water utility.”
Funding came from all levels of government and an official opening and ribbon cutting June 24 marked the addition of the new well to the Bridgetown water supply system.
Funding commitments for the well came from the federal and provincial governments Clean Water and Wastewater Funds $304,636 and $152,318 respectively, and $152,318 from the Bridgetown Water Capital Reserve fund.
Funding for the land purchase, control building, disinfection / monitoring equipment, controls and other equipment came from the gas tax rebate funding to the tune of $150,000, and the reserve for land purchase in the amount of $58,821.
“New clean water infrastructure is essential to maintaining healthy Canadian communities from coast to coast to coast,” said West Nova MP Colin Fraser, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities. “I’m thrilled to see the Bridgetown Water Supply System up and running, and to see the federal gas tax fund at work, bringing cleaner water and efficient treatment systems to residents of Bridgetown so they can have a healthy environment to live, work and raise their families.”
“Bridgetown and communities across our province should have modern and reliable infrastructure,” said Premier Stephen McNeil, MLA for Annapolis. “Through projects like the new well, we are working with our federal and municipal partners to help ensure that communities have safe drinking water and the other infrastructure systems they count on every day.”
The County of Annapolis has been working to lower the naturally occurring uranium levels for the Bridgetown water supply to ensure safe drinking water for Bridgetown water utility users.
During the summer of 2016 county staff noted continual spikes of uranium in the Bridgetown water supply, which led to the decommissioning of one of the Bridgetown wells. The county subsequently contracted CBCL Limited to complete a program of test well drilling and aquifer testing to find a supplemental and/or alternative groundwater source for the Bridgetown water supply. After careful analysis of the data a new well site was selected and construction began in the spring of 2018.
The new well was put into production on April 5, 2019 and the county said it is pleased to report that with the new well tests show a 75 to 85 per cent decrease in uranium as well as improved energy efficiency.
