A Reconnaissance Appraisal of Ground‐Water Potential and Development in Saskatchewan, Canadaa

Abstract

ABSTRACTGround water, being essentially free of salt and suspended matter, generally free of contamination from chemical and bacterial waste and relatively stable in temperature, is attractive to industries, municipalities, farmers and urbanized society in Saskatchewan. However, ground‐water reservoirs are difficult to locate and evaluate and ground water tends to be highly mineralized when compared to surface water. Suspected ground‐water reservoirs do not represent a capital asset until they are proven up, at least partially, and catalogued.It is possible that some 2 × 108 million gallons of water are stored in the glacial drift beneath southern Saskatchewan. Pumpage of ground water was about 50 million gallons per day in 1963, or about 1.8 × 104 million gallons per year. If we were to prospect as diligently and as successfully for ground water throughout southern Saskatchewan as we already have to locate 14 million gallons per day around many of our cities, towns and villages, theoretically we should locate another 486 million gallons per day of recoverable ground water.Because present pumpage of ground water is small, the ground‐water reservoir in southern Saskatchewan is still essentially full. However, the amount of usable ground water actually recoverable will remain difficult to estimate reliably until we receive more refined information on amounts of ground‐water recharge and on the dependable productive capabilities of some of our Province's major aquifers.Most municipal ground‐water supplies in Saskatchewan contain total dissolved solids in the order of 500 to 1500 parts per million. Hardness usually falls in the 200 to 900 parts per million range; alkalinity is regularly below 600 parts per million and iron below 6 parts per million. While waters in many aquifers in the lower part of the glacial drift and in the underlying bedrock in Saskatchewan are often very highly mineralized, this water is customarily suitable for stock‐watering purposes. There is great need in Saskatchewan for the development of a small‐unit demineralizer that is within the budget of the average farmer.Aquifers in Saskatchewan most suitable for development include surficial sand and gravel, sand and gravel in buried bedrock valleys and other sand and gravel within the glacial drift. High salinity, low permeability, customary great depth below ground surface, difficult and costly drilling, and difficult and costly well construction and well development make bedrock aquifers unattractive except for certain types of industries that can use inferior quality water.There is much merit in following a systematic and scientific procedure when trying to locate ground‐water supplies. Any sequence of steps or phases followed must consider the elements of economy, quality of work, speed and efficiency. Mathematical and electric analog models are useful when trying to forecast the long‐term dependable yields of aquifers under different pumping schemes.