Councillor Bruce Phinney brought forward the motion for annual glyphosate testing of water supplies in Sackville & Dorchester. His motion was seconded by Councillor Josh Goguen
Tantramar Town Council resisted advice from Town Engineer Jon Eppell on Tuesday and ordered that drinking water in Sackville and Dorchester be tested every year for the presence of glyphosate.
The herbicide, frequently sold under the commercial name Roundup, is heavily used by forestry companies in New Brunswick to eliminate ground vegetation that can inhibit the growth of young trees. NB Power also sprays it to control weeds on its transmission line routes.
“Each of our water supplies in Dorchester and Sackville have three wells and they have filter systems,” Eppell told council.
He explained that the six wells are tested every month for bacteria, twice a year for organic materials and once every year for heavy metals including the iron and manganese that are filtered out of the water.
No measurable results
“We have tested for glyphosate previously and found that the concentration was not measurable,” Eppell said, referring to tests conducted in 2023 at the request of a resident who was worried about the water supply.
He said the town had no plans to conduct further tests.
“It is not required to be tested for by either the guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality in Canada nor for approval to operate,” he added.
He also said that the herbicide is unlikely to be washed down into wells.
Federal guidelines for Canadian drinking water quality state that since glyphosate is absorbed in soils, it “would therefore not be expected to migrate to groundwater supplies after application.”
Testing costs
Town Engineer Jon Eppell
“It’s not that the sampling can’t be done,” Eppell told council.
“It certainly can and it wouldn’t harm the system to do it. It is just an additional cost because each test that you do for each individual well would be around $300 — around $250 to $300 each.”
He noted that the town would also have to pay Veolia, the big international company that manages Tantramar’s water systems, to gather the raw water samples.
He said there are buffer zones around the Sackville watershed to protect drinking water supplies.
In the end though, the town engineer’s comments fell on deaf ears and council unanimously passed a motion directing that glyphosate testing be conducted every year on the Sackville and Dorchester water supplies when the testing is done for heavy metals.
For coverage in 2017, when Sackville Town Council called for an end to the “indiscriminate spraying” of glyphosate especially in areas where municipalities get their drinking water, click here.
For a CHMA story from 2023 on glyphosate spraying north of the Sackville watershed, click here.
For a recent CBC report on Premier Susan Holt’s promise to ban glyphosate spraying if a link is found to the mystery brain illness that has afflicted dozens of New Brunswickers, click here.
Bravo Town Council!
Thank you!!!
“In the end though, the town engineer’s comments fell on deaf ears and council unanimously passed a motion”
I wouldn’t say the comments fell on deaf ears. I think (in my way of thinking) is if we can do this little thing to make the residents feel safe with their water supply, then let’s do it.
Absolutely Josh and it sounds like the cost will only be about a nickel per citizen per year. A good investment for the ‘peace of mind’ that it gives one in this overly complicated world that we are now living in.
Our water treatment contract with Veolia is expensive. Why wouldn’t the smart people in this region be discussing primarywater.org? Maybe those oh so well educated folks haven’t learned the truth about an abundant, healthy, pure water supply right under our feet in this vast rural riding of Tantramar? The reality is that university folks are gatekeepers on sacred wisdom and knowledge we all need to have… so the facts are simple.. abundance is our birthright.. but wise isn’t the same as well informed.