In Merritt, the city’s watering notice describes the Coldwater River as “a losing-reach tributary where water drains into the aquifers.” Its water system page 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 tells the rest of that story.
The Province’s aquifer subtypes 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 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 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 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; 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; Information on Drinking-Water Wells in Flooded Areas of B.C., November 20, 2021; HealthLinkBC File 05b, Well Water Testing; Environmental Flow Needs; Requirements for Groundwater Users; City of Merritt, watering notice and community water system · checked October 10, 2026
