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An Edmonton homeowner who discovered an abandoned water well that drops 15 metres in his backyard says he’s grateful to have found it before someone was injured.

He’s one of thousands of Albertans who may unknowingly have a well on their property.

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“We’ve been walking over that spot for a long time,” Brian Day said. “I feel very fortunate that we found it the way we did and nobody got hurt.”

The provincial government says there are tens of thousands of abandoned water wells across Alberta. The exact number isn’t known.

In the past century, there have been about 240,000 water wells drilled in Alberta, including those for industry. The government estimates most of the 59,000 farmsteads in Alberta have at least one well, many of which are still used.

But Day, 61, doesn’t live in a rural area.

His house was built on a standard lot in south Edmonton in 1978 near 23 Avenue and 111 Street. He has lived there with his family for 25 years. No one knew a small patch of sod in the backyard was slowly eroding.