The Ontario Ground Water Association and a new group called Well Water First are raising concerns about what industrial wind turbines can do to water wells.

Kevin Jakubec farms near Dresden where North Kent Pattern Energy and Samsung have been given a contract to build up to 36 turbines. He’s heard from his neighbours in Dover – who already live among industrial turbines – that their well water, which once was clear, is now turbid.

You can drink it, but you really don’t know what is in it,” he says.

Jakubec, who is the spokesman for Well Water First, says many farmers have put thousands of dollars into water filters to solve the problem, only to see them clog up from the sand. With new development coming, that worries him.

“We understand there needs to be a response to climate change…but in the response to climate change, the well water – the ground water – has to be a priority,” says Jakubec.

Well Water First is urging residents in the area to have their well water tested for turbidity, salt and radon before construction begins.