In rural Alberta, 90 per cent of people use private well water supplies for domestic use (e.g. drinking, cooking, bathing or cleaning). Domestic well water systems are not regulated by either the provincial or federal governments. The Government of Alberta along with Alberta Health Services provides water chemistry testing of private well water and information and advice on safe water for domestic purposes; however, it is the responsibility of private well owners to ensure the quality and safety of their water supply. Water quality may be impacted by contamination from natural sources or human activities and cause noticeable aesthetic quality problems or potential human health concerns. The water samples are collected and submitted by well owners through local Alberta Health Service sites for analysis of physical and chemical parameters. Domestic well water quality monitoring in Alberta, includes routine chemistry and trace element analyses. Routine chemistry testing focuses on the suitability of the water for drinking and household use with two health-related parameters. Trace element testing is only available when there are health concerns or when the water is suspected to contain chemicals of concern.
The Alberta Centre for Toxicology (ACFT) has conducted physical and chemical testing of raw domestic well water samples in Alberta since late 2001. This dataset contains the raw well water chemistry results from trace element analysis on samples submitted to ACFT between December 2001 and December 2015. For additional information, refer to the Alberta Health Domestic Well Water Quality reports found at: http://www.health.alberta.ca/newsroom/pub-environmental-health.html.