FREDERICTON - First Nations representatives and St. John River water advocates met with City of Fredericton wellfield protection officer Kathy Edwards for almost three hours at city hall today. They discussed provincial policies and treaty information for the protection of urban and rural ground water supplies in relation to potential shale gas work in the region.
Although Mayor Brad Woodside has said there will be no shale gas work in the City of Fredericton, the water representatives today met with the City to ensure not just local water supplies are protected, but that rural areas along the St. John are as well because what's done outside city limits can flow into city aquifers through the river.
While the City has said in the past it is confident filtering systems at it's treatment plants throughout the municipality will keep contaminants from the town's drinking water supply, water advocates are concerned new types of chemicals and chemical combinations used in shale gas fracking will not be prevented by the City's filters from getting into the drinking water.
After the meeting today, the water groups got the green light from the wellfield protection office to make a presentation to the City's environment committee sometime in April.
