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Warning: Liquid manure may be in the well water in parts of B.C.

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B.C. has issued a warning about the risk of contamination in private drinking-water wells in flooded areas of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

A provincial order explains that storage systems for liquid manure may have been overloaded after livestock were transported to different farms and milk was disposed of in the systems in response to severe flooding last month.

The government says the Environment Ministry is working with agriculture operators to reduce the risk of overflow, while the Health Ministry is advising residents to assess their private wells in flood-affected areas.

Affected operators are being asked to report to the province by Dec. 19 so the Environment Ministry can assess the risk and potentially authorize the discharge of liquid manure to land.

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