The Chair for Seine Rat River Conservation District says it has been a busy summer for sealing abandoned wells.

(SRRCD Board Chair Cornie Goertzen)Cornie Goertzen says nearly one dozen wells have already been sealed. He says each well costs about two thousand dollars to seal.

"It's a great program where we pay one hundred per cent," notes Goertzen. "The landowner doesn't have to pay anything."

It is Goertzen's belief that the best water in the world flows through our taps. He says if abandoned wells are not sealed off properly, there is potential to contaminate the water beneath.

"Once the water is contaminated it's done," says Goertzen. "You are better off to work with it prior to contamination than after when it's hard to improve again."

The Conservation District is reporting many of the wells being sealed this year are from the Seine River watershed, including Steinbach, Niverville, New Bothwell and Ste.Anne.

District Manager Jodi Goerzen says there are still a lot of wells out there needing to be sealed.

For more information, visit www.srrcd.ca.