Toxic Sip: Hydroponic Cultivation in Contamination

Boil Water Advisories (BWAs) are pressing concerns in many rural and Indigenous communities in Canada. BWAs are issued to inform people that they need to boil their water to protect themselves from disease-causing pathogens (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2025). There is a Boil Water Advisory in effect in Leaf Rapids, my community, since August 21, 2013, and many incidents where individuals have fallen sick after drinking tap water have been reported.

Another persistent concern in many of these communities is food insecurity. Many struggle to buy fresh, affordable food as long-distance transportation increases costs of groceries. Farming is not an option, due to the short growing season, of 2-4 months (Just Vertical, 2025) caused by threats from wildfires in the summer and harsh winters. Hydroponics, a method to grow plants in water without soil, seems a promising option to grow food at such places (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2021).

Since many remote and Indigenous communities struggle with unsafe drinking water as well as food insecurity Issues, this led me to question if using contaminated water in hydroponics would affect plant growth and whether it could harm their health as well.

I used water from four different water sources, two lakes around town, tap water supply and Reverse Osmosis (RO) water. I hypothesized that plants grown in RO water will show the most growth while plants in tap water will show the least growth. I expect plant growth in water from the two lakes to fall somewhere in between.

Materials

1.    iDOO Indoor Gardening Kit Model I-D-01

2.    Water from four sources (Tap water, Reverse Osmosis (RO) water, Granville Lake water, and Turnbull Lake water)

3.    Cherry Belle radish seeds

4.    Indoor temperature controlled to 25°C

5.    Water Testing Kits

6.    Notebook

7.    Pen

8.    Ruler

Procedure

I started my experiment by doing chemical analysis for all four water sources. My experiment used the hydroponic setup for growing plants. I chose hydroponics over soil gardening as winter approached and it also offered easier control over the growth process. The experiment was done over a time of 3 months, from November 2024 till mid-January 2025 and took three trials.

For the first trial, I made four hydroponic compartments out of plastic bottles. I sowed five seeds per source. I used sponges for germination, but that was not successful as the sponges were water repellent. In the second trial, I kept the same setup, except I used peat pellets instead of sponges for germination. The germination process was successful, and the seedlings were about to be transplanted, when there was a major power outage in the community that lasted for 3 days and killed all my plants.

In the third trial, I used a hydroponic indoor gardening kit with four compartments. I filled each compartment with 2 L of water from each source. Compartments were refilled every two weeks. Liquid nutrients provided along with the kit were added every two weeks. The kit also provided pods that can be assembled for sowing seeds. I sowed 16 seeds, four per compartment. The setup used a 16-hour light cycle.

After one week, I started measuring the plants, from the top of the pod to the highest point using a ruler. Growth was recorded in centimeters daily, except on weekends and statutory holidays.

Out of the 16 plants grown, 4 died, while 12 survived. Few plants had formed very small radish bulbs, as there was limited space in the pods, but most were growing towards the light. In the experiment, the plants were not pruned as I thought it would interfere with the measurements.

By the end of this experiment:

In tap water, 3 out of 4 plants survived. 1 out of 4 plants formed radish bulbs. The average growth of all plants was the second highest.

In RO water, 2 out of 4 plants survived. Both plants formed radish bulbs. The average growth of all plants was the second lowest.

In Granville Lake water, all 4 plants survived. 3 out of 4 plants formed radish bulbs. The average growth of all plants was the highest.

In Turnbull Lake water, 3 out of 4 plants survived. None of the plants formed radish bulbs. The average growth of all plants was the lowest.

Plants grown in hydroponics can grow well in any type of water, but I concluded that plants grown in water from flowing water bodies exhibit better growth than grown in water from stagnant water bodies.

For many rural and indigenous communities in Canada dependent on food imports from the south, hydroponics can be sustainable option to help solve problems regarding food insecurity. Hydroponics can help reduce the need of importing food from the south, lowering food costs in these communities (Just Vertical, 2025; Mitchell, 2024). It can also help reduce the need of households travelling hours to a nearby city to get cheaper groceries, as it is very costly for them in terms of gas prices, which can skyrocket if there is a political conflict involving resources, as seen previously in the U.S.-Iran War (The Canadian Press, 2026: CTV News, 2026). The long hours may also spoil perishable items, such as fresh produce or dairy if not taken care properly, which leads to not only a waste of those items but also a waste of money.

Hydroponics can also contribute to the creation of local jobs and youth engagement (Mitchell, 2024). It can help involve more youth in healthy community-led collaborations rather than having them spend times doing activities considered unhealthy for their age. Involving hydroponics in education can help youth get opportunities of employment in their communities rather than travelling to a major city hours away from home to seek employment opportunities.

To expand this project, I would grow a variety of fresh produce suited for hydroponic systems, such as lettuce and tomato, in order to obtain more reliable and effective results.

In this experiment I used the Deep Water Culture method, next I would also test other hydroponic techniques, including the Wick System, Ebb and Flow, Nutrient Film Technique, Aeroponics, and Drip System. This would allow me to find the most suitable method under such conditions.

Finally, I would investigate whether bacteria can enter the edible parts of plants grown in contaminated water, using the bacterial culture method to detect microorganisms.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Hendrik Barentsen, Grow North Coordinator in my school, for providing resources, and offering valuable guidance throughout this project. I also extend my gratitude to my mom as well as science teacher, Mrs. Abhilasha Arya Singh for her unwavering support, encouragement and resources which helped me refine this project a lot. I also want to sincerely thank my dad for carefully proofreading my project and helping me present my best work. Their love and support mean everything to me.

I would also like to thank Science Coaches Jacqueline Monteith and Arif Kassum for providing helpful resources that contributed to the improvement of this project.

A special thank you to mentors Mr. Stephen Jones, Director of Youth BIOLab, Ms. Julianna Wanke and Ms. Kaitlyn Podolchuk for offering thoughtful suggestions and meaningful feedback that helped me improve this project to the next level.

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