VICTORIA - British Columbia's Environment Ministry must disclose soil test results related to a contaminated aquifer that supplies drinking water to some residents living in the Vernon area, privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham said Wednesday.

About 200 area residents have been under a water advisory for more than two years after local officials reported in March 2014 that nitrate levels in the Hullcar Valley aquifer exceeded Health Canada guidelines for drinking water quality.

The local advisory said water was considered no longer safe to drink for infants and those with compromised immune systems.

The practice of spreading liquid manure on agricultural fields in the area is believed to be the cause of the groundwater pollution, said an investigation report released by Denham. The liquid manure was being applied to fields as a source of nitrate fertilizer for crops, said the 43-page report.

Denham launched an investigation earlier this year after receiving a complaint from Victoria's Environmental Law Centre that called on the government to disclose soil test results.

"Public bodies have to realize their duties to proactively disclose information is not just related to significant harm to public health or safety," she said in an interview. "It's also related to their obligations when information is clearly in the public interest."

Denham said the release of the soil test results gives the public the opportunity to fully examine the government's efforts to monitor and control the issue.

"In the two years since the issuance of the water advisory, nitrate levels in the water supply have continued to increase, while at the same time the ministry has continued to authorize applications of manure on farms over the aquifer," Denham's report says.

Environment Minister Mary Polak said in a statement her ministry accepts Denham's order to release the soil test results and nutrient management plans.

"The commissioner did not suggest the ministry was not doing its job as a regulator and concluded that by releasing this information, public confidence may be restored in the ministry's approach to this issue," she said.

George Heyman, the Opposition New Democrat's environment critic, said many residents continue to drink bottled water, while others are drinking water from the contaminated aquifer.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016