City councillor seeks emergency response for dry wells in rural Ottawa

A dry summer has left many rural Ottawa residents without well water, sparking one councillor to call for city support. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

The city councillor for West Carleton-March is calling on the City of Ottawa to help rural residents whose private wells have run dry amid persistent dry weather.

“An increasing number of wells in Ward 5 and rural Ottawa are going dry. While private well maintenance is not a City responsibility, I am of the opinion that we are now in an emergency situation, which requires consideration from the City of Ottawa, which is tasked with emergency response,” Coun. Clarke Kelly wrote in a Facebook post.

A dry summer and early fall has left many private wells in rural Ottawa without water.

Now, residents with wells have had to alter their water usage, hauling in buckets of water, cutting back on showers and driving to take their laundry to laundromats.

After speaking with CTV News earlier in the week, Marathon Village resident Juliann Dickie managed to secure a thousand-litre construction water tote.

“Our plan is to have it filled with a water truck and we’ll use this to wash our dishes and flush toilets,” Dickie said Saturday.

She says she has received quotes to fill the water tank for $300 and says the 1000 litres would last her family one week. The tank is also expected to sit outside all winter after well drilling companies said her well may not recover until spring.

“That’s something we’ll need to figure out for the winter. We’re not sure how we’re going to be able to keep it from freezing, but we’re going to look into all our options.”

Kelly says he has been working with the City’s Emergency Operations groups as well as conservation authorities to support residents.

Kelly also says he has met with the Director, Public Safety Service of the Emergency and Protective Services Department of the City of Ottawa asking them to, “review whatever additional resources we can reasonably provide to those without access to potable water in their homes.”

“Before the media coverage, we were not getting answers and we weren’t getting help,” Dickie told CTV News. “After the media coverage, the counselors recognized this as an emergency.”

West Carleton Disaster Relief (WCDR) says it is monitoring the situation closely, but the nature of the event is unlike any they’ve had to deal with.

“This marks WCDR’s first slow-water event—a distinctly different challenge from the organization’s previous responses to floods, tornadoes, and storm damage,” WCDR said in a press release.

WCDR says it is focused on identifying vulnerable residents who may be in need of additional support accessing water supplies from the city.

Coun. Kelly is asking for residents in Ward 5 experiencing dry wells to email him with information on their situation.

Kelly says residents experiencing dry well conditions can get water and take showers at the following locations:

• 3832 Carp Rd. – W. Erskine Johnston Arena
• 1500 Shea Rd. – CARDELREC Centre
• 4101 Innovation Dr. - Richcraft Recreation Complex
• 100 Charlie Rogers Pl. – Kanata Recreation Centre
• 70 Aird Pl. – Kanata Leisure Centre
• 10 Warner Colpitts Lane - Johnny Leroux Stittsville Community Arena
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