Plans by the city of Charlottetown to drill for a new water source in the Miltonvale Park area will hit salmon populations in the North River, says the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

City water manager Craig Walker said a consultant found there will be minimal impact on salmon habitat. (CBC)

The city has been searching for new sources of drinking water to help meet the growing demand for a decade. After an extensive study of possibilities, they have targeted groundwater in Miltonvale Park.

"The request has been for a thousand gallons [4,000 litres] a minute," city water manager Craig Walker told CBC News Wednesday.

"This first site we looked at was simply the closest, nearest, logical site for us to begin with."

But the plan concerns the Atlantic Salmon Federation. Groundwater from Miltonvale Park trickles into the North River. Todd Dupuis, regional director for P.E.I., said the well will cut back on that supply, and destroy salmon habitat.

"Anytime you take ground water out in high volumes, then it actually affects the level of water in the river," said Dupuis.

"In turn will affect the fish that actually live there. So our concern is what's going to be the impact on the Atlantic salmon that live here?"

Todd Dupuis worries the North River will suffer the same fate as Winter River. (CBC)

Dupuis worries salmon in the North River will suffer the same fate as those in the Winter River. The Winter River has long been the major source of drinking water for the city. Depuis said that river's water volume has dwindled because of it.

"Historical records would show that it was one of the best rivers on P.E.I. for salmon, the Winter River. There's no doubt about it," he said.

"There are none today. It was probably because of a number of issues — land use, poaching, whatever — but this certainly would've added to the demise."

The study commissioned by the city looked at the potential impact on fish habitat, said Walker, and the consultant determined the project could go ahead with minimal impact.

"If you weren't looking to develop this site, you'd simply be going to another with many of the same situations and conditions that would be there," he said.

"It's not a whole lot unlike the well fields that we have developed in the past."

The city is waiting for the province to approve the project. The Environment Department says the impact it would have on salmon in the North River is a major factor they have to consider.

The province says it will take at least a month to study the consultant's report and to do its own homework before making any decisions.