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Nitrate is a form of nitrogen. It can readily dissolve in water and can travel easily through soil to the water table. As a result, nitrate is common in our groundwater, ponds, streams, and estuaries. Human activity is responsible for over 90% of the nitrates in many Island...

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae blooms, are not common in PEI but can be a concern as some strains can produce toxins that are harmful to human or animal health. In PEI cyanobacteria can be found in shallow, warm, and slow moving or still water (including freshwater ponds)...

In Prince Edward Island we use the “Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality” to assess the safety of drinking water and its suitability for domestic use. The most important values are the health-based guidelines expressed as “maximum acceptable concentrations” often...

Uranium is a naturally occurring element that is widely distributed throughout the Earth’s rocks and soils. Uranium can be dissolved from minerals in the soil or rock and be present in groundwater. The concentration of uranium in water is typically very small, but varies from...

Sodium is a naturally occurring element that is widely distributed throughout the Earth’s rocks and soils, most often found in combination with chloride in the form of salt (sodium chloride). The presence of sodium in groundwater can result from a number of sources including the...

Selenium is a naturally occurring element that is widely distributed throughout the Earth’s rocks and soils and is found in trace quantities in most plant and animal tissues. Selenium can be dissolved by weathering of minerals in the soil or rock or deposited from atmospheric...

Nitrate is a naturally occurring form of nitrogen that is commonly found throughout the environment. It is present at low levels in most groundwaters, but can be present significantly higher levels in areas with extensive use of fertilizers, storage and spreading of manure or...

Manganese occurs naturally in PEI rocks and soils. Usually it is not easily dissolved from these sources and its concentration in well water is low. In some cases, particularly in swampy areas where oxygen levels in groundwater are low, manganese is more easily dissolved and can...