Ancaster councillor Lloyd Ferguson will continue to gather information on a new standard for arsenic in drinking water that could force the closure of Ancaster’s artesian well.

Hamilton Conservation Authority staff and the city’s health department are recommending the well’s closure because the water’s typical arsenic levels of 17 to 23 parts per billion exceed the new provincial limit of 10.

But at least two residents are disputing the claim that levels of arsenic — a natural ingredient — in the well’s water can cause cancer.

“We’re going to take all the information from the community, have (conservation authority staff) correlate it, go see the medical officer of health, and say, ‘Is this accurate?’” said Ferguson.

I would love to have a big picture of red herring in the middle of this (my presentation).

The well, on Sulphur Springs Road, provided the former town of Ancaster with drinking water from about 1965 to the mid-1970s, when the area was converted to the current treated municipal water supply. The conservation authority purchased the site in 1998.

Erin Davis, who holds a bachelor of science degree from McMaster University, told the Hamilton Conservation Authority board of directors that there appears to be a “double standard” at play in the province’s new guidelines on arsenic levels.

“Science can be manipulated; data can be manipulated,” she said, noting the maximum allowable limit on arsenic in bottled water is 50 parts per billion, and bottled mineral water and bottled fruit juice is 100 parts per billion.

“I would love to have a big picture of red herring in the middle of this (my presentation),” she said.

Davis, a well-user for seven years, also questioned whether any level of government could enforce a standard. According to the World Health Organization, she said, no authority has the right to legally enforce a guideline, and access to drinking water is more important than quality.

Chris Krucker, who operates an organic farm in Copetown, said his family has been drinking the water from the well every day for 20 years. They go through up to 10 or more big jugs each week, depending on the time of year.