Following a unanimous vote from council, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent will be urging the provincial government to conduct further testing on water wells in North Kent and the surrounding area.
During a meeting on Monday, council passed the motion introduced by Councillor Rhonda Jubenville to strongly encourage the Ontario Ministry of Health to conduct a health hazards investigation into private water wells.
The municipality will be requesting that the ministry ensures the scope of its investigation includes “the footprint area of the North Kent 1 Wind Farm, the East Lake St. Clair Wind Farm and the Boralex Wind Farm.”
The ministry previously conducted an All-Hazards Investigation in the area around the North Kent wind farm. While the study found there was a significant deterioration in general well water quality, the results that were released in 2022 showed that no widespread health risks were detected. However, the ministry indicated that further assessment of the results is needed along with additional investigation.
A total of 61 wells were tested as part of the investigation.
The North Kent 1 wind complex, which consists of 34 wind turbines, began construction in 2017 and was operational in February 2018. During this time, residents complained of an impact on the quality of their well water, citing increased turbidity, discoloration, and the presence of sediment such as black shale.
