A lack of rainfall and warmer temperatures this past fall have caused problems for some Island homeowners with shallow water wells.
Providing an update on water table elevations, Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment Chester Gillan said the fall weather resulted in less than normal recharge to the water table during this period.
"After peaking in the spring, water table elevations normally decline over the summer months and early fall because there is little or no recharge to groundwater. Then, as we get cooler temperatures and increased fall rains, the water table begins to recover," explained Minister Gillan.
"This year, because we did not receive any significant fall rain and temperatures remained relatively warm well into December, we did not experience that recharge."
The Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment maintains 12 observation wells across the province where groundwater table elevations are monitored on a continuous basis.
"In most locations, the water table elevations are below levels seen at this time of year over the period we have been collecting data, although in some instances that has only been a few years. It is important to note that the majority of these observation wells are less than a metre below those levels previously seen," the Minister added.
Minister Gillan said his department has had several calls from people experiencing problems with their wells, and local well drillers report an increase in the number of dry wells across the Island this fall.
"In many of these cases, the wells were not actually dry, but rather the pumps had been set at relatively shallow levels, and the situations were easily corrected by lowering the pump intake level. In other cases, where the wells were too shallow for the location, new wells had to be drilled," he said.
The Minister cautioned Islanders to be aware of signs their well may be experiencing trouble such as air or sediment appearing in the water or a lack of water after heavy pumping. If they do start to experience problems, homeowners are advised to contact their plumber to check the depth of the intake level of the pump, the depth of the well, and the current water level to determine whether the problem can simply be corrected with adjustments to the pump intake.
Minister Gillan said it is possible the province could still experience a recharge in the water levels in the coming weeks.
"There is little or no frost in the ground so if we have a ‘January thaw' as we often do, recharge to the water table could occur. We have seen that in other years. If that doesn't happen, recharge to the groundwater table will be delayed until the spring when the snowpack begins to melt."
Graphs showing water table elevations at provincial monitoring sites can be found on the Web site at http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/onelisting.php3?number=51930.
For further information on water table elevations, contact the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment, Water Resources Division, at (902) 368-5044 or toll free 1-866-368-5044.