Water wells are important in providing water for rural populations that are far removed from municipal water supplies. Over 400,000 rural Albertans use water wells for domestic purposes. The responsibility of well water management lies with well owners. Perceptions of well water quality become important in influencing the adoption of well water management practices such as testing, treatment, and well maintenance. This study sought to understand perceptions of well water quality among rural Albertans living on acreages and farms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with well owners. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Overall, well water owners were satisfied with the organoleptic properties of their well water. Activities perceived as a hazard to well water contamination were mainly agricultural or oil and gas related. Most well water owners reported using some form of mitigation strategy. Well water owners reported knowledge of well water contamination events and the main illnesses associated with well water contamination were gastrointestinal illnesses. Perceptions of well water quality were influenced by several factors. Identification of these factors is useful in the development of well stewardship policy and could help inform well stewardship programs in the province.

水井对于为远离城市供水的农村人口提供水很重要。超过40万农村艾伯塔省人将水井用于家庭目的。井水管理的责任在于井主。对井水质量的认识对于影响采用井水管理实践（例如测试，处理和维护）非常重要。这项研究试图了解居住在农田和农场上的艾伯塔省农村地区对井水质量的看法。与井主进行了半结构化访谈。使用主题分析来分析数据。总体而言，井水所有者对其井水的感官特性感到满意。被认为对井水污染有危害的活动主要是与农业或油气相关的。大多数井水拥有者报告使用某种形式的缓解策略。井水所有者报告了对井水污染事件的了解，与井水污染有关的主要疾病是胃肠道疾病。井水水质的感知受到几个因素的影响。确定这些因素有助于制定井管理政策，并有助于为该省的井管理计划提供信息。