Transportation to Hire Consultant

Sampling of ground water will soon take place in the Rosemount Drive, Windale Drive and Sunnybrae Court area of Bible Hill.

The Department of Transportation and Public Works will hire an environmental consultant to determine if wells on about 50 properties near its Bible Hill base have elevated levels of salt. The wells of two nearby homes have been identified as having elevated levels.

"This is a precautionary measure," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "We're going to be sampling water supplies to determine if there are elevated levels at nearby homes. If there are, we will then recommend possible remediation measures."

A tender to hire the environmental consultant will be called on Wednesday, Jan. 31. An open house to discuss sampling results will be held in early April.

"If the water contains salt, it won't hurt anyone but it might not taste that great," said Dr Maureen Baikie, assistant provincial medical officer of health. "However, people on physician-prescribed low-sodium diets should contact their doctor and consider using bottled water if their water contains elevated levels of salt. There is no concern about using this water for bathing or brushing your teeth."

Residents were notified by letter of the sampling.