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The provincial government, as well as the leaders of the Progressive Conservative and Green parties, will continue to support a moratorium on deep-water wells, despite the suggestion by Cavendish Farms that the limits played a role in the decision to close a packaging plant in O’Leary.

On Monday, Cavendish Farms announced it would be closing its produce packaging plant near O’Leary because of low potato yields over the last two years. The closure will affect 40 workers. In a statement, the Irving-owned company also said P.E.I.’s potato industry would require “supplemental irrigation” in order to be sustainable in dryer years.

But Environment Minister Richard Brown said the province still needs more time to complete research on the impacts of high-capacity or deep-water wells before it makes a final decision on the moratorium

“Research is being carried out to determine how much water can be withdrawn from a watershed to not impact aquatic habitat. This research will be used to develop regulations for the Water Act, which will be put forward for public consultations in future,” said Brown in an e-mailed statement.

A new Water Act was passed during last fall’s sitting of the legislature. However, it included little mention about deep-water wells.

The province has left open the possibility of lifting the 16-year moratorium for several years. But, Brown said the province is awaiting the results of a multi-year study, currently being undertaken by the Canadian Rivers Institute, about the amount of water required to maintain the health of the Island’s rivers.

In a presentation before the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce in May, Cavendish Farms president Robert K. Irving pressed the provincial government to lift the moratorium.

Irving said last year’s dry summer had forced local plants to rely on potatoes trucked in from Alberta, North Dakota, Manitoba and New Brunswick.

“Importing potatoes is not a sustainable business plan,” Irving said in May.

“We are concerned about the supply of potatoes and mainly due to the lack of water at times when there are drought-type conditions. In order to avert that crisis or problem, we’re saying if we have supplementary irrigation, when required in those times, that we can run these irrigation systems and water our potato plants.”

RELATED: O’Leary Corner potato packing facility closing

On Tuesday, the leaders of both opposition parties said they also oppose lifting the moratorium.

Progressive Conservative Leader James Aylward said the consequences of deep-water irrigation wells could be severe.

"We only have one available source of consumable water here on P.E.I., and that is our aquifers,” Aylward said. “If that is damaged in some way, if we have backfill by salt water or aquifers go dry, then essentially P.E.I. is not habitable."

Aylward said he was sympathetic to the employees affected by the closure and said the unusually dry summer has had a negative impact on potato yields. But, he said, other irrigation options exist for Island farm operations.

"Until we have specific peer-reviewed evidence to allow irrigation by using high-capacity wells, we're going to continue to push hard for the moratorium."

Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker also said he did not believe there was sufficient evidence to lift the moratorium.

"I think Irving is certainly playing hardball at the moment with government. They just want them to make a decision on this," Bevan-Baker said.

"I understand their frustration with that, but I also think we need to proceed with caution."

RELATED: Concern expressed for displaced workers



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