Kootenay-Boundary Region Groundwater Level Conditions
The following provides an overview of groundwater conditions in the Kootenay-Boundary Region.
This report was generated on August 01, 2025.
Background
The province maintains a network of groundwater observation wells to monitor water levels in priority aquifers. These observation wells (OW) record water level fluctuations which allow for improved understanding of how aquifers respond to changes in climate, precipitation, and effects from pumping. Many of the observation wells are equipped with satellite telemetry to provide real time information on water levels.
The following summaries compare recent groundwater levels to all historical continuous daily records to determine percentile classes, with a minimum of 5 years of data. Historical monthly water level samples (before ~2004) are not included. A percentile is on a scale of 100 and indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it. For example, a groundwater level at the 10th percentile is equal to or greater than 10% of the water level values recorded on this day of the year during all previous years of data.
In general, a groundwater level value that is:
- the highest ever measured for the day of year is considered High
- greater than the 90th percentile is considered Much Above Normal
- between 75th percentile and 90th percentile is considered Above Normal
- between 25th and 75th percentiles is considered Normal
- less than the 25 percentile is considered Below Normal
- less than 10 percentile is considered Much Below Normal
- the lowest ever measured for the day of year is considered Low
Wells classified as “Not Available” in this report do not have recent groundwater level data within the past 14 days or do not have sufficient data (less than 5 years continuous data).
Definition of Normal
It should be noted that describing water levels relative to “normal” steady state baselines requires historical water levels of a well to be relatively stationary and without significant trending in the short or long-term. Use of the term “normal” in reference to groundwater levels that are indicating a trending pattern should be regarded with caution, as there is no true “normal” water level for a given time of year in these scenarios. As a result, this report uses the “normal” term solely in reference to water levels between the 25th to 75th percentiles of historical data, not to imply a steady state baseline for comparison. Percentile data should be interpreted with the context of long-term data records, patterns, and trends.
Groundwater Level Conditions
|
Current Year
|
Last Year
|
|
|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 | |
| High (100) | 0 | 0 |
| Much Above Normal (90-100) | 0 | 0 |
| Above Normal (75-90) | 1 (11.1%) | 0 |
| Normal (25-75) | 3 (33.3%) | 7 (77.8%) |
| Below Normal (10-25) | 2 (22.2%) | 1 (11.1%) |
| Much Below Normal (0-10) | 2 (22.2%) | 0 |
| Low (0) | 0 | 1 (11.1%) |
| Across All Classes | 8 | 9 |
This plot shows groundwater level percentile classes for each day over the past year to observe how conditions have changed over time. Using a different colour scheme than the rest of the report for visual purposes, more darker brown colours mean more wells in lower percentiles while more darker blues mean more wells in higher percentiles. Water levels in the 25-75th percentiles are in the lightest blue.
Wells Below Normal
This section reports on the percentage and number of wells below the 25th percentile for the past 14 days and one year prior for comparison. Only wells with data during the two time periods are included.
All Wells
|
Current Year
|
Last Year
|
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
| 44.4% (4/8) | 22.2% (2/9) |
By Aquifer Type
| Aquifer Type |
Current Year
|
Last Year
|
|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 | |
| Unconfined sand and gravel | 80% (4/5) | 40% (2/5) |
Latest Details
Latest details on observation wells. Click on a well number in the table to find a link to a hydrograph and long-term record plot. Click on an aquifer number to find more information about the aquifer.
| Well | Location | Aquifer | Aquifer Type | Latest Date | Percentilea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Kootenay | |||||
| OW074 | Ootischenia | 501 | Confined sand and gravel | 2025-06-25 | Not Available (n = 14) |
| Columbia-Shuswap | |||||
| OW309 | Golden | 450 | Confined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-30 | Normal (75%) (n = 22) |
| East Kootenay | |||||
| OW291 | Cranbrook | 523 | Sedimentary | ** 2025-07-31 | Normal (50%) (n = 22) |
| OW362 | Jaffray | 521 | Unconfined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-31 | Below Normal (11.1%) (n = 20) |
| OW363 | Wasa | 540 | Unconfined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-31 | Much Below Normal (5.6%) (n = 20) |
| OW468 | Cranbrook | 525 | Confined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-30 | Above Normal (85.7%) (n = 7) |
| Kootenay Boundary | |||||
| OW217 | Grand Forks | 158 | Unconfined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-30 | Much Below Normal (9.1%) (n = 21) |
| OW306 | Beaverdell | 482 | Unconfined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-30 | Normal (42.9%) (n = 21) |
| OW444 | Midway | 478 | Unconfined sand and gravel | ** 2025-07-30 | Below Normal (14.3%) (n = 7) |
| a n is the number of years included in the percentile calculation. | |||||
| ** Values with a Working approval status | |||||
Historical Water Level Plots
Annual hydrographs and historical records for the observation wells summarized above can be found in this section.
Note: ‘Working’ data are preliminary and have not yet been finalized as ‘Approved’ data with approved corrections and data grades for quality assurance. Quality assurance procedures may result in differences between what is displayed as ‘Working’ and what will become the official record.
OW074
OW217
OW291
OW306
OW309
OW362
OW363
OW444
OW468
Appendices
A - Disclaimer
Warranty Disclaimer
This information is provided as a public service by the Government of British Columbia, Box 9411, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 9V1.
This website and all of the information it contains are provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied. All implied warranties, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, are hereby expressly disclaimed. Links and references to any other websites are provided for information only and listing shall not be taken as endorsement of any kind. The Government of British Columbia is not responsible for the content or reliability of the linked websites and does not endorse the content, products, services or views expressed within them.
Limitation of Liabilities
Under no circumstances will the Government of British Columbia be liable to any person or business entity for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages based on any use of this website or any other website to which this site is linked, including, without limitation, any lost profits, business interruption, or loss of programs or information, even if the Government of British Columbia has been specifically advised of the possibility of such damages.
B - Calculations
General details
- Water year starts in October.
- Well measurements are all in Depth Below Ground in metres.
Percentiles
- Percentiles are calculated individually for each day of the year for each well, so only years with continuous daily data are used in calculations (no historic point samples used).
- Recent percentiles values are calculated with all years of data, however the current year values are not considered for the percentile class hydrograph plots; and so there may be slight differences in how the most recent value’s percentile compares on the figure.
- Minimum 5 years of data required for a percentile calculation.
- 366th day in leap years is omitted.