Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 25/98) - People in Fort Liard need not worry about buying bottled water. They have pure water running right past town in the Liard River, according to Brian Latham, head of water planning and management with DIAND.

Latham and representatives from Health and Social Services were in Fort Liard Monday evening and in Fort Simpson Thursday evening for public information sessions regarding the results of the environmental quality monitoring program.

The purpose of the four-year study was to find out what lies in the aquatic environment of the Liard and what is coming across the border from British Columbia.

"I liken it to a check-up when you go to the doctor," Latham explained.

It turns out the water itself is of excellent quality, he said.

The reason for having health experts on hand was to address any questions the public might have and to reassure everyone that there is no cause for panic about the water of Liard water.

"The problem we have is as soon as we use the word 'contaminants' everybody says, 'Oh gee, I didn't know there were any contaminants there,'" said Latham. "There's no such thing as pure water. There's metals in all water... it's a question of how much."

There were two areas that could pose some cause for concern. Above-average levels of mercury were found in some fish. The source of the element is not yet known, he said, adding that it's a common problem worldwide. The health officials advised that the fish only constitute a risk to those who subsist on them, eating them daily over the course of a lifetime. They also noted that the element selenium can offset high levels of mercury, but the selenium content of the Liard was not studied.

"The beneficial effects of eating fish outweigh any effects that would be seen from mercury. Fish are good for you," Latham said, adding that it's best to eat a variety of species of fish from various locales.

The other area that DIAND plans to keep an eye on is PAHs -- hydrocarbons from oil and gas. The land along the Liard is rich in these substances so some natural seepage into the soil is to be expected, he said. He added that there is no evidence that oil and gas development in the region is the cause for the detected hydrocarbons.

The results of the study were released to the public before distributing them to other government agencies.

"We thought the communities should be the first to know what the results were... from the river that they live on," Latham said. "We'd rather they hear it from us rather than somebody calling them from Ottawa or something."

The monitoring was conducted from 1992-1995. The findings can take years to complete due to backlogs at laboratories, said Latham. The next series of studies will take place when more funding becomes available, he added.