| Under the Potable Water Regulation
of the Clean Water Act, the Province of New Brunswick maintains
a database of groundwater quality data collected from domestic water
wells drilled since 1994. The data are valuable to various user groups,
notably health professionals, scientists, groundwater researchers,
land use planners, municipal officials and well owners. The database
comprises results from approximately 10,500 inorganic chemistry samples
from 1994 to 2007. In general, the water quality of domestic water
wells in New Brunswick is considered to be very good.
The parameters mapped in the Atlas (Plates 4 to 31)
make up the standard inorganic chemistry analysis conducted at the
New Brunswick Department of Environment Analytical Services Laboratory.
The range in concentrations for each parameter is presented along
with information pertaining to the distribution of the data and
their relationship to applicable drinking water quality guidelines.
Throughout the Atlas, reference is made to the Guidelines
for Canadian Drinking Water Quality established by Health Canada.
The New Brunswick Department of Health has adopted these guidelines
and uses them to evaluate the quality of drinking water in the Province.
The maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) is the health-based criteria.
The aesthetic objective (AO) is established for parameters that
may impair the taste, smell or colour of water but do not cause
adverse health effects. For more information on understanding water
quality results, please contact the New
Brunswick Department of Health.
Plate 1 shows the location and depth of domestic
water wells across the Province for which chemistry data is available.
Since natural groundwater quality is influenced by the geologic
materials encountered, the reader is encouraged to consult the surficial
and bedrock geological maps of New Brunswick (Plates 2 and 3). More
detailed copies of these geology maps can be obtained from the New
Brunswick Department of Natural Resources.
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