What We Are Looking for Feedback On

At its Regular Business Meeting held on December 20, 2021, City Council considered the Options for Groundwater Protection presented by City Administration and resolved:

• That a bylaw be created to prohibit new domestic-purpose pumping wells within city limits; and
• That a new development standard be created for monitoring wells installed, maintained, and decommissioned during the land development process.

In response, City Solicitors have created a bylaw which will be presented to City Council at the Regular Business Meeting on November 21, 2022 at 1:00pm. To see the agenda or watch the meeting please visit this link. 

Also, a new standard has been created for monitoring wells which can be found here. If you would like to provide your feedback on the new standard please contact the project lead, Vanessa Heilman, using the information below with your comments.

Groundwater and Wells in Saskatoon

Groundwater is a natural resource that requires protection to ensure its viability is sustained for present and future users. Groundwater wells are common within and surrounding Saskatoon, either as pumping wells or monitoring wells. Wells exist on rural land planned for future development as well as on private and City properties within Saskatoon. They are often encountered during land development, redevelopment, or road maintenance by the City or private developers.

A search of the Water Security Agency water well database in June 2021 by the City returned 351 drilling records within Saskatoon and an additional 1,094 records within the P4G regional planning area – an area for future growth of Saskatoon and its partner municipalities. These records exclude geotechnical or environmental wells. For more information on groundwater resources and risks in Saskatoon please see this resource. 

Why Are We Doing This Work?

There are many benefits in protecting groundwater for Saskatoon, including:

1. Improved groundwater quality
2. Improved public safety and health
3. Improved awareness of groundwater and it’s long-term sustainability
4. Improved security of the City’s waterworks system
5. Reduced liability to developers and the City

In June 2020, City Council approved groundwater protection as an objective within Saskatoon's Official Community Plan. Numerous reasons for a groundwater protection proposal for Saskatoon have been identified and include:

1. Public safety risks with large diameter wells (falling hazard)
2. Unsafe consumption of groundwater from private wells (public health)
3. Improper maintenance or decommissioning of wells that can allow contaminants to enter groundwater from the surface
4. The potential for untreated groundwater to enter the City waterworks system at properties serviced by both City water and a private groundwater supply
5. Liability for abandoned wells and groundwater contamination

The following is a list of key terms that can be used to better understand future engagement materials and communications related to the Options for Groundwater Protection project:

Abandoned well: a well that is no longer used (as defined by the Water Security Agency).

Aquifer: any geological formation from which groundwater can be withdrawn in usable quantities to suit a given need (adapted from The Ground Water Regulations)

City water: water supplied from the City of Saskatoon waterworks system.

City waterworks system: any City of Saskatoon asset or facility for the collection, transmission and treatment of water including the main lines of the system (as defined in the Private Sewer and Water Service Connection Bylaw).

Decommissioned well: a well that has been properly sealed to prevent the vertical movement of water within it (after section 28(1) of The Groundwater Regulations).

Domestic purposes: household and sanitary purposes, the watering of stock, the spraying of crops, the watering of noncommercial lawns and gardens adjoining private residences, but does not include the sale or barter of water for such purposes (as defined in The Ground Water Regulations).

Groundwater: water beneath the surface of the ground (as defined in The Ground Water Regulations).

Industrial purposes: any purposes for which water is used in the production of goods and services and includes the use of water for cooling purposes (as defined in The Ground Water Regulations).

Irrigation purposes: the controlled application of water to soil for the purpose of supplying moisture essential to plant growth (as defined in The Ground Water Regulations).

Monitoring well: a well used for measuring, testing, or sampling groundwater.

Municipal purposes: household and sanitary purposes, the watering of streets, walks, paths, boulevards, lawns and gardens, fire protection and the flushing of sewers, and includes the construction of buildings and of civic works, and other purposes usually served by water within a city, town, or village and such other purposes as are approved by the commission (as defined in The Ground Water Regulations).

Pumping well: a well used for withdrawing groundwater for domestic or non-domestic purposes other than testing or sampling.

Well: an opening made by drilling into the ground for the purpose of obtaining groundwater or scientific data on groundwater, whether water is obtained or not (as defined in The Water Security Agency Act).