{"id":4940,"date":"2025-10-31T03:09:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T06:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/water-shortage-prompts-manitoba-town-to-tap-into-old-aquifer-with-high-arsenic-levels\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T03:09:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T06:09:06","slug":"water-shortage-prompts-manitoba-town-to-tap-into-old-aquifer-with-high-arsenic-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/10\/31\/water-shortage-prompts-manitoba-town-to-tap-into-old-aquifer-with-high-arsenic-levels\/","title":{"rendered":"Water shortage prompts Manitoba town to tap into old aquifer with high arsenic levels"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>ManitobaThe town of Virden is under a water advisory warning after returning to an old water source, which tests indicated had a level of arsenic above drinking water guidelines.Virden had to turn to new water source after hitting \u2018seriously low\u2019 levels in aquifer in use since 2021Chelsea Kemp  \u00b7 CBC News  \u00b7 Posted: Oct 30, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 30Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe Town of Virden issued a water advisory on Oct. 19 warning it was returning to its old water source, which past tests found contained levels of arsenic beyond federal guidelines. (Chelsea Kemp\/CBC)The town of Virden is under a water advisory warning after returning to an old water source, which tests indicated had a level of arsenic above drinking water guidelines.The southwestern Manitoba town of approximately 3,000 people had to find a new water source after levels in its aquifer, which was tapped into in 2021, became critically low.According to an Oct. 19 advisory posted on the town\u2019s website, two wells being brought online are part of an aquifer \u201cin which previous testing and historical data indicated the levels of arsenic exceeded the Canadian Drinking Water Guideline.\u201dResident Kathy Heaman said people are frustrated and looking for answers around the town\u2019s water supply.\u201dWe need potable water,\u201d said Heaman. \u201cWe need to have answers.\u201dShe\u2019s seen residents buying bottled water and trying to conserve use, she said.Emergency response measures have been in place since Oct. 10, when people were asked to conserve water due to \u201cseriously low\u201d levels in its aquifer. That led to bringing the new wells, which previously tested high for arsenic, online.On Oct. 24, officials said raw water was again going through full treatment, including reverse osmosis and greensand filtration, but it cautioned its earlier advisory remained in effect.That Oct. 19 advisory warned that drinking water with arsenic exceeding the federal drinking water guideline of 0.01 milligrams per litre over a long period of time can increase cancer risk. It said residents may want to use other sources, such as bottled water, for drinking and cooking, and cautions that boiling the water may increase the concentration of arsenic.WATCH | Virden warns new water supply couldcontainarsenic:Southwestern Manitoba town warns new water supply could contain arsenicVirden, Man., has tapped an old water source that was previously found to have high arsenic levels, after its newest aquifer dried up. The town, which has a population of about 3,000, issued a drinking water advisory on Oct. 19. A provincial spokesperson told CBC in an email the Manitoba Water Services Board is working with the town to identify an alternative water supply. The best immediate option is using the previous well site, the province said.For now, one pre-existing well is being used while a replacement is drilled, according to the spokesperson. The Environment and Climate Change Ministry and Manitoba Health are overseeing testing and regulations.\u201cThis precautionary advisory [in the Oct. 19 advisory] is in place pending testing of arsenic levels in the treated water from the new water source, and provides residents with recommendations and steps they can take to minimize their arsenic exposure,\u201d said the spokesperson.Virden Mayor Tina Williams told CBC in an email the town works with the Manitoba Water Services Board on all water projects.The town has \u201cwell trained water and sewer employees,\u201d but not employees who have training with aquifers and groundwater, Williams said.The mayor could not be reached to answer followup questions. The town previously told CBC News the new well may not be a permanent fix.Crisis avoidable, says residentNursery school operator Frances Lansing praised the town for being transparent and diligent in its response, but said she\u2019s long relied on bottled water for children in her care.\u201dI just know like there has been some issues in the past,\u201d she said.Meanwhile, resident Jennifer Ritchie said she got bottled water for her son, who plays hockey, but she\u2019s worried about water contamination.\u201dCancer has happened in our family, and so I\u2019m very cautious to what we put into our bodies,\u201d she said.John Hipwell said his well ran dry soon after the town began drawing from the shared aquifer in 2021.\u201dWe never had any problems\u201d until the town tapped in, he said.John Hipwell says it was clear the aquifer Virden tapped into in 2021 did not have enough water to support the town of more than 3,000. (Chelsea Kemp\/CBC)A 2020 water supply study by W.L Gibbons and Associates on the water supply upgrade the town ended up completing in 2021 raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of groundwater withdrawals, he said. After the town\u2019s well came online, his water level dropped by nearly a metre in three months and eventually went dry, he said.By January 2024, Hipwell said he had to haul water before he dug a new well at a different spot in the aquifer in May, at a cost of $40,000. He believes the town\u2019s withdrawals are outpacing natural recharge.\u201dWhen they stop taking the water out, I assume the aquifer will slowly start recharging,\u201d Hipwell said.He questions why the town tapped into the aquifer in 2021 in the first place.\u201dThey\u2019ve wasted millions [of dollars],\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a pipeline that goes from the new wells to Virden. It\u2019s of no use.\u201dHipwell says the town needs to take water conservation and quality more seriously.\u201dI get the impression for as long as water comes out the tap, everything is good,\u201d Hipwell said.\u201dThe town should have put a hose pipe ban on, a sprinkler ban, a ban on washing cars \u2014 that should have been back in the beginning of this year.\u201dMayor Williams said the town met with Hippwell and a neighbour.\u201dPlans were made surrounding low supply and we are all staying in contact,\u201d her email said.ABOUT THE AUTHORChelsea Kemp is a multimedia journalist with CBC Manitoba. She is based in CBC\u2019s bureau in Brandon, covering stories focused on rural Manitoba. Share your story ideas, tips and feedback with chelsea.kemp@cbc.ca.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ManitobaThe town of Virden is under a water advisory warning after returning to an old water source, which tests indicated had a level of arsenic above drinking water guidelines.Virden had to turn to new water source after hitting \u2018seriously low\u2019 levels in aquifer in use since 2021Chelsea Kemp \u00b7 CBC News \u00b7 Posted: Oct 30, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,127,1],"tags":[116,126],"class_list":["post-4940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-manitoba","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-manitoba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}