The activist group Water Wells First is asking Chatham-Kent officials to look into how much it would cost to have Dover residents hooked up to municipal water.

Ward 4 Councillor Leon LeClair
Ward 4 Councillor Leon LeClair

This is after a few residents have come forward with problems with their well water.

Councillor Leon LeClair says it’s a complicated issue.

“The frustrating part is I had the same issue and I didn’t have a windmill in my backyard,” the North Kent representative and Dover-area farmer says. “Some wells do go bad, some need maintenance, so it’s going to be hard to prove. And that’s where my dilemma is.”

LeClair says it’s a matter of culpability. “How can I help you prove it if you have a bad well? How can I prove that it was the windmills? Hopefully there will be more data that will come forward and there will be some tests that will help find that problem.”

LeClair says that if the wind turbines are the cause of the issue, the affected residents should have waterlines paid for by the wind turbine companies or the province, since the turbines are provincially-mandated.