Water Wells in the Red Deer River Watershed: A Comprehensive Assessment

The Red Deer River watershed, spanning approximately 49,650 square kilometers across central Alberta, contains thousands of water wells serving diverse needs across its varied landscape. While precise total counts for the entire watershed are not directly specified in the available data, multiple sources provide insights into water well distribution and density throughout this important hydrological region.

The distribution of water wells across the Red Deer River watershed varies significantly by subwatershed, with density patterns reflecting local hydrogeological conditions and human settlement patterns. The James River subwatershed, one component of the larger Red Deer River watershed, has an average well density of 0.66 wells per square kilometer. However, this density increases dramatically to 10 wells per square kilometer in specific areas such as Jackson Creek, Wilson Creek, and Burnstick Lake regions1. In total, the James River subwatershed alone contains 1,023 wells of various types, with water wells specifically accounting for 29 of these wells (27 active and 2 abandoned)1.

This variability in well density across different portions of the watershed reflects the diverse hydrogeological conditions throughout the basin. Some areas feature productive aquifers capable of supporting higher densities of wells, while other regions have more limited groundwater resources.

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) operates a network of observation wells throughout the Red Deer River watershed2. These monitoring wells are strategically positioned to collect data on groundwater levels, quality, and trends. They form part of the Groundwater Observation Well Network (GOWN), with wells categorized by depth (shallow, intermediate, and deep) to monitor different aquifer systems throughout the region.

The Alberta Water Well Information Database (AWWID), maintained by the Groundwater Information Centre (GIC), provides the most comprehensive repository of water well information for the province, including those within the Red Deer River watershed. This database contains approximately 500,000 records across Alberta, with nearly 3,000 new records added annually8. These records include water well drilling reports, chemical analysis reports, springs, flowing shot holes, test holes, and pump tests conducted on water wells.

It's important to note that while this database is extensive, it may not capture all wells in the watershed, particularly older wells drilled before mandatory reporting began in the mid-1970s. Most drillers now submit their reports electronically, allowing for rapid updating of the database, though some still submit paper copies which take longer to process8.

The water wells in the Red Deer River watershed serve multiple purposes across different sectors. Licensed groundwater use in the watershed amounts to 37 million cubic meters per year, which is approximately one-tenth of the licensed surface water use (335 million cubic meters per year)2. The agricultural sector is the largest user of groundwater in the watershed, accounting for approximately 65% of licensed groundwater use, followed by the oil and gas sector (16%), other uses (8.5%), municipal sector (7.1%), and commercial (3.3%) and industrial (0.2%) sectors2.

Beyond licensed water use, there is substantial unlicensed groundwater use for household purposes. Based on typical household consumption patterns of approximately 365 cubic meters per year, the total estimated volume of unlicensed groundwater use in the watershed is approximately 14 million cubic meters per year2.

While comprehensive statistics for the entire watershed are not directly available, records from counties that overlap with the watershed provide additional context. For example, Ponoka County, part of which lies within the Red Deer River watershed, has 10,014 records in the groundwater database, of which 7,839 are water wells5. Of these, 6,629 are for domestic/stock purposes, with the remainder serving industrial, municipal, observation, agricultural, irrigation, investigation, dewatering, injection, and monitoring purposes5.

These county-level statistics suggest significant numbers of water wells throughout the Red Deer River watershed, particularly in agricultural areas and around population centers, though precise watershed-wide totals remain difficult to determine due to the watershed boundaries crossing multiple administrative jurisdictions.

Conclusion

While a precise total count of water wells in the Red Deer River watershed is not directly available from the search results, the evidence indicates there are thousands of wells distributed throughout the watershed, with varying densities depending on local hydrogeological conditions, population distribution, and land use patterns. The most comprehensive information comes from the Alberta Water Well Information Database, which contains hundreds of thousands of records across the province, including those within the Red Deer River watershed.

The varied well density across the watershed, from 0.66 wells per square kilometer in some areas to 10 wells per square kilometer in others, reflects the complex hydrogeological landscape of central Alberta and the diverse water needs of communities, agriculture, and industry throughout this important watershed region.

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