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Privacy commissioner holds inquiry into public release of water data

An inquiry that’s set to start Tuesday in Edmonton will determine whether water quality data collected by the province from wells should be made public.Retired Edmonton-based chemical engineer Don Davidson filed the initial Freedom of Information request in May 2010 in an attempt to get information to trace causes of algae blooms in provincial lakes.

EDMONTON — An inquiry that’s set to start Tuesday in Edmonton will determine whether water quality data collected by the province from wells should be made public.

Retired Edmonton-based chemical engineer Don Davidson filed the initial Freedom of Information request in May 2010 in an attempt to get information to trace causes of algae blooms in provincial lakes.

The request was denied, the denial was reviewed and that led to the public inquiry by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

A University of Alberta water quality expert is also weighing in on the issue, saying monitoring of the province’s groundwater will be greatly enhanced with the release of the data.

Biologist Diane Orihel said the Alberta Health database on water well quality reports could be valuable.

She says taxpayers have paid for the collection of the data, so it should be public and researchers should have access to it.

Alberta Health denied her request for similar information in August 2010 citing privacy concerns.

Since 1986, the provincial ministry has collected the data but has refused to publicly release the information.

Orihel said she understands the need to protect personal privacy but added the information researchers are looking for is from general areas without the need for specific locations.

For Rosebud resident Jessica Ernst, the reasons to protect the information don’t lie in protecting the privacy of land owners.

“Water belongs to all Albertans and you may own the water well but the water that supplies it comes from somewhere else and goes somewhere else,” Ernst said.