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# Wells Near Rivers in BC: When the River Is Part of Your Groundwater
- URL: https://bcgroundwaterwire.ca/bc-wells-near-rivers-groundwater/
- Published: 2026-10-10T08:14:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-10T08:14:43.000Z
- Description: A river can feed the aquifer beside it, and floodwater can reach a well. What BC’s aquifer subtypes, the Province’s flood advice, and its licensing rules say about wells near rivers.
- Author: Colleen Roberts
- Tags: Before You Drill, Rural Property, #who-home, #who-farm, #who-business, #who-trades

In Merritt, the city’s [watering notice](https://www.merritt.ca/watering/?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) describes the Coldwater River as “a losing-reach tributary where water drains into the aquifers.” Its [water system page](https://www.merritt.ca/watersystem/?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) says the city has relied mostly on four of its five wells, which draw from shallow aquifers about 30 to 50 metres deep: “the shallow aquifers fed by water sources such as the losing-reach Coldwater River.” By the city’s account, the river helps feed the aquifers it mostly draws on. The Wire’s [piece on Merritt’s watering rules](https://bcgroundwaterwire.ca/bc-merritt-groundwater-watering-restrictions/) tells the rest of that story.

The Province’s [aquifer subtypes](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/groundwater-wells-aquifers/understanding-aquifers/aquifer-subtype-code-description?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) set such aquifers apart. Subtypes 1a and 1b are mostly unconfined sand and gravel aquifers along major and moderate rivers, “with the potential to be hydraulically influenced by the river”; subtype 1c is the same kind of aquifer along small streams in confined valleys. GWELLS aquifer records give the subtype in words, such as “Confined sand and gravel - glacial.”

Rivers also rise. On November 20, 2021, the Province [advised](https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0205-002215?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) that “drinking-water wells in flooded areas of B.C. may be at risk of contamination,” and that owners of a private well affected by flooding “need to assess their well and take action to protect the people who use water from the well.” [HealthLinkBC’s well water file](https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/well-water-testing?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) says: “Weather, seasons, drought, floods or other events may cause contamination.” It recommends re-testing after such events, and a bacteria test at least once a year, or right away if the water’s clarity, colour, or taste changes.

And licensing reads the river and the aquifer together. The Province’s [guidance on environmental flow needs](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/water-licensing-rights/water-policies/environmental-flow-needs?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) says the water manager must consider them when deciding a water licence application “on a stream or on an aquifer that is hydraulically connected to a stream,” though some kinds of application are exempted from that requirement by regulation. A household well [needs no licence](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/water-licensing-rights/water-licences-approvals/new-requirements-for-groundwater-users?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca); a non-domestic well on an aquifer connected to a river can be weighed against what the river needs.

**The Note:** A river beside your well can feed your aquifer, flood your wellhead, and, if you apply for a licence, come into the Province’s decision. Know which of the three applies to you.

**Who should pay attention:** Owners of wells on river flats and valley bottoms, buyers of riverside acreages, farms and businesses planning a non-domestic well near a stream, and drillers and pump installers working river aquifers.

**What to do next:** Look up the aquifer under your property in GWELLS, if it is mapped, read its subtype, and compare it with the Province’s list: 1a and 1b are the subtypes it describes as potentially influenced by the river. If your well is in a flooded area or has been affected by flooding, follow your health authority’s advice before drinking from it, and re-test after the flood. Test for bacteria at least once a year in any case. If you plan a non-domestic well on an aquifer connected to a stream, the stream’s flow needs can be part of the licensing decision.

**Checked against:** [Aquifer Subtype Code Description](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/groundwater-wells-aquifers/understanding-aquifers/aquifer-subtype-code-description?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca); [Information on Drinking-Water Wells in Flooded Areas of B.C.](https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0205-002215?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca), November 20, 2021; HealthLinkBC File 05b, [Well Water Testing](https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/well-water-testing?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca); [Environmental Flow Needs](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/water-licensing-rights/water-policies/environmental-flow-needs?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca); [Requirements for Groundwater Users](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/water/water-licensing-rights/water-licences-approvals/new-requirements-for-groundwater-users?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca); City of Merritt, [watering notice](https://www.merritt.ca/watering/?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) and [community water system](https://www.merritt.ca/watersystem/?ref=bcgroundwaterwire.ca) · checked October 10, 2026