The community of Sherridon has put a stop to the release of contaminated water for the time being at least.
Last month crews were set to release water containing mine tailings from Camp Lake into Kississing Lake under the direction of the provincial government when local residents and members of council put a hold on the project.
At the time, Dr. Chris Beaumont-Smith, director of mines for the Manitoba government, agreed to stop work in the area until an independent study could be conducted by Sherridon Town Council.
“We have hired a consultant to do independent testing and are currently waiting for those results,” said Councillor Debi Hatch this week.
Mike Moncour is a research hydrogeologist at Alberta Innovates in Calgary. He travelled to Sherridon to take test samples the third week in July.
According to Hatch, Moncour has studied tailings for several years, writing his thesis on the subject when he studied at the University of Waterloo. Moncour spent several days in the area collecting samples and data that were sent both to the Universities of Waterloo and Saskatchewan for analysis.
Council is currently waiting for the test results to be returned and Hatch is confident that the water will not be released this year.
She reported that crews have removed pumps and other equipment from the area and it would appear that they do not intend to release the water containing the mine tailings at this time. Beaumont-Smith was not available to confirm this decision before press time.
Hatch and others in the community are concerned about releasing the tailings into Kississing Lake, where children swim and people fish. However, they are looking for a safe, long-term solution to the problem associated with the waste water.
“It’s not that we want to stop the release we just want it done in a safe manner,” she said.
Government data stated that releasing the water containing the tailings was not hazardous to people or the environment, but local residents do not agree.
Hatch said that studies done by the government were conducted on fresh mine tailings and not those which have been around for several years, like those in Camp Lake.
In addition, Hatch explained that in 2007, before the project began, Moncour and his professor did a report on the area which was presented to the council as well as the provincial government.
“They gave the government several options on how to safely deal with the tailings, and putting them underwater wasn’t one of them,” she said. “But the government chose to put them underwater anyway.”
“Why they chose to ignore those options I don’t know,” she said.
Hatch is concerned that the water to be released does not meet the Metals Mining Effluent Regulations and “in my opinion there is no science backing what they are doing,” she said.
In doing the independent study, she said the local council will have “science backing what we are saying.”
It is expected that the results of the testing will be returned in the next month, at which time the local council can meet with the provincial government to come up with a plan.
“We want it cleaned up in the best way possible without any environmental repercussions.”
