Hiway16 Magazine... about people and places in north-central British Columbia, Canada

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Tales From the Well

by Bonny Remple

For those who live in towns, having a clean, plentiful source of water is as simple as turning on a tap. The same isn’t true for rural residents. Not only must those individuals supply their own water lines, pumps and pressure tanks, they must first find a source of water.

Although this region is dotted with lakes, ponds and swamps, finding a reliable source of water can be a challenge in the Central Interior. In that respect, Burns Lake and the surrounding area is no different than any other community along this portion of Highway 16.

A typical water pump and pressure tank in a northern rural home

For example Palling Road, which forms a loop on the northern side of the highway west of Burns Lake, has a reputation as being a “hit and miss” area when it comes to wells. Two adjoining properties share a single well that provides a generous water supply to both households -- enough to water both lawns during dry spells in the summer. Yet another neighbour only a stone’s throw east must haul water just to meet household needs.

East of Burns Lake, another family has plenty of water but it is discoloured or “rusty”. Even now, with modern equipment such as the backhoe or even the drilling rig, sinking a new well may not yield the desired results. So how did early settlers find a reliable water supply?

The sandy well was on Mary and Sivert’s property next to the old house

Sivert Andersen Junior and his wife, Mary, both of whom were born and raised in the Lakes District shared their experiences and stories in a recent conversation. The Andersens live on a farm which straddles Highway 16 and is located between Palling and Rose Lake, west of Burns Lake. Their current home is on the northern side of the highway and they now have a spring-fed well which is only six feet deep.

However, early in their marriage, they lived on the opposite side of the highway. Sivert hand-dug the well at their first home in 1965. It was somewhere between 16 and 17 feet deep.

“It was all sand,” Sivert said of the soil. “It must have been a lake or river bed at one time. The sides of the well kept sloughing in so I eventually had to put a second (wood) cribbing inside the first.” That second structure stabilized the sides of the well but even so the weight of the sand kept pushing inward and Sivert said he had to re-dig the well every second year or so.






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