Alberta Working Well Program

Steve Wallace, Jennifer Macpherson

In the proceedings of: GeoEdmonton 2018: 71st Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 13th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: General Hydrogeology

ABSTRACT: Working Well is a province-wide, multi-and protect their wells and common groundwater supplies. The program includes four elements for extending information to well owners: hands-on workshops, interactive activities and exhibits, information resources and community outreach. Program messaging, delivered by technical experts, revolves around the basics of groundwater, water well construction, common well problems, contamination risks, well decommissioning and best management practices, all of which are designed to motivate well owners to adopt behaviour changes that will protect their wells and improve assurance that their drinking water supplies are safe and secure. The Government of Alberta is celebrating the 10th year anniversary of its Working Well program, having delivered 270 workshops to more than 7,200 acreage and recreational property owners, farmers and ranchers located in 70 municipalities across the province. The success of Working Well is in part due to an evaluation component that is ingrained as a key strategic priority of the program. Evaluation goals were established to track the performance of workshops and continuously improve them to help achieve program outcomes. Workshops are assessed based on extensive information collected from workshop participants, hosts (municipalities) and delivery staff through direct contact and formal follow-up questionnaires and surveys. This information is analysed to determine how successfully the workshops contribute to program outcomes, the level of support needed for future workshops and what improvements are needed for continued success in effecting behaviour change of water well owners. This presentation provides insight on how survey analysis is used to evaluate whether the program is at incenting well owners to adopt best management practices. It also helps to determine what barriers are preventing adoption of these practices.

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