When Dana Whitenect had her well water tested at New Brunswick’s designated laboratory in Fredericton, she got back a report that confirmed what she could already see — enough manganese to contribute to brown staining in her water tanks.
She did not get a warning about the potential health risk to the children attending her Saint John daycare.
“They assured me it was just aesthetics, it was fine,” Whitenect said.
By federal standards, it wasn’t fine.
The level of manganese in her drinking water was nearly eight times the limit established by Health Canada back in 2019, to protect the brain development of children and formula-fed infants.
New Brunswick only matched that standard last week, when the province released updated drinking water guidelines to align with Health Canada.
Gilles LePage, the provincial environment minister, said he could not explain the years-long delay, having only got the cabinet post after the 2024 election.
Health Canada’s guidelines are not legally binding on the provinces. And New Brunswick’s Research and Productivity Council, established as a Crown corporation, has not always referenced them in well-water reports.
For at least the past year, New Brunswickers who dropped off their water samples directly at council labs would get a red caution if their water exceeded Canadian drinking water guidelines.
Same water, different results
Last month, CBC News took water from a residential well known to have high manganese and delivered half the sample directly to Research and Productivity Council labs in Fredericton.
The other half was submitted to the Service New Brunswick office in Burton, which then forwarded the sample to council labs.
The council lab charged $213 and generated a report with a health-risk warning.
Service New Brunswick charged $209, then sent the sample to the very same lab, but the well owner got no warning.
LePage said that discrepancy has been corrected.
“Now we even will only have one regulatory system, so it won’t be different from the national one to the provincial one,” LePage said.
“So now the reports that come out, whether it’s a private well or an operator well from a municipality, the reports will be the same. “
Size and scope of manganese problem
In New Brunswick, 40 per cent of the population gets their drinking water from private wells.
And based on historical data, the province says as much as 30 per cent of the estimated 120,000 private wells in New Brunswick could have elevated levels of manganese.
Back in early December, CBC News asked to speak to a provincial scientist familiar with the properties and characteristics of groundwater mapping, but none was provided.
However, Matthew Alexander, a senior environmental scientist with a specialty in hydrogeology and not employed by the province, said manganese is a common element in the local geology.
The mineral leaches out of the soil, he said, and amounts in private wells can vary over years and with the seasons. That’s why regular testing is recommended, he said.
“Maybe when they bought their house or had their well drilled, they had low concentrations,” Alexander said. “But over time, those concentrations can build up.”
WATCH | Saint John daycare owner says she wasn’t warned about her well:
It happened in Sussex. One municipal well saw manganese levels increase tenfold between 2019 and 2023.
The town paid $350,000 for a treatment system that failed to fix the problem, so the well was taken out of production, said Jason Thorne, the town’s chief administrative officer.
CBC News checked with water engineers in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton and asked what guidelines they use. All of them said their municipal water is treated for manganese and compliant with Health Canada.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of thousands of New Brunswickers who get their drinking water from wells will remain responsible for testing and safety.
Health Canada says homeowners with health risk levels of manganese should take steps to install certified treatment systems.
Those systems can vary in price, said Josh Pitcher, sales and service manager with Aerus Saint John. He said one of the least expensive units, which removes iron, sulfur and manganese, starts around $1,500.
Whitenect said she wasn’t going to take any chances with her daycare, even if her lab report did not advise her to take action.
She said she spent about $2,800 to have a treatment system installed and the water that comes out of her tap now contains near zero manganese.
“It is expensive,” she said. “And I’m worried in this economy right now that not everyone can afford it or will want to.”
New Brunswick’s updated drinking water guidelines are now posted on the provincial government’s website. They also align now with Health Canada’s limits for aluminum, copper, lead, cyanobacteria toxins, and pesticides such as glyphosate.
