The Town of Kensington has tentatively approved the development of a water well protection plan for the community.
Councillors voted Monday night during their monthly committee meeting to hire the Kensington North Watershed Association to develop the plan. The approval will have to be reaffirmed at the next full council meeting before it becomes official.
The project is expected to cost $12,650 and is due to be submitted to the town by Oct. 31, 2018.
Mayor Rowan Caseley said the municipality and the watershed group have been looking for projects to partner on and this is a big one they have been working towards for some time.
The town will be looking specifically for the plan to outline areas of concern and offer practical ways to mitigate those concerns, said Caseley.
The community’s water supply is not something to be trifled with, he added.
“Hopeful it will be something we can move forward on in a timely manner and not be put on a shelf … as sometimes these reports can be.”
The town expects the document to meet its obligation under the province’s new Water Act to have wellfield protection plan in place.
In its proposal for this project, the watershed group noted the importance of planning for the community’s water needs and protecting them into the future.
“The well fields for the town are in close proximity to human activities that increase the risk of contamination of the water supply,” it noted.
“This project will create a Well Field Protection Plan that will be a guide toward the security of the Town of Kensington’s drinking water.”
Some of the items listed as “to be included” in the plan are: maps of various kinds of water and sewage features in the town, an inventory of all potential threats to the water supply, an emergency response plan, an investigation into a potential new wellfield location and a chemical analysis of the town’s current water supply.
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