This dataset is a GIS representation of the locations of known water wells in Saskatchewan. As per the Water Security Agency Act, anyone drilling a water well in Saskatchewan is required to submit the details of the drilling to the Water Security Agency. These submissions are maintained in a database called the "Water Well Driller's Reports" database. This GIS dataset is created from the WWDR database. Note that most of the point features are located at the centroid of the quarter section which they fall within; the actual location in the real world could be anywhere in that quarter section. Note that the data has not been field-verified by the Water Security Agency or otherwise. The Water Security Agency is not responsible for the accuracy of the information, including the location of the wells. Use of, and reliance upon, the data is at the user’s own risk. The dataset does not contain all of the wells in the Province, only those that have been reported by drillers.

The water level data comes from the groundwater monitoring network of Saskatchewan (Canadian province). Each well in the observation network is equipped with a hydrostatic pressure transducer and a temperature sensor connected to a data logger. A second pressure transducer located above the water surface allows for adjusting the water level according to atmospheric pressure variations. The time series refers to the level below which the soil is saturated with water at the site and at the time indicated. The water level is expressed in meters above sea level (MASL). The dataset consists of a general description of the observation site including; the identifier, the name, the location, the elevation and a series of numerical values designating the water levels at a defined date and time of measurement.

This layer comprises all the available water wells in GIN (Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador). This layer is a combination of all individual provincial and territorial layers. The original databases are dynamically converted by an automatic process managed by Natural Resources Canada (Groundwater Information Network).

This layer comprises all the available water wells in GIN (Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador) and published through the open data platforms. This layer is a combination of all individual provincial and territorial layers. The original databases are dynamically converted by an automatic process managed by Natural Resources Canada (Groundwater Information Network).

This layer comprises all the available water wells in GIN (Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador) and published through the open data platforms. This layer is a combination of all individual provincial and territorial layers. The original databases are dynamically converted by an automatic process managed by Natural Resources Canada (Groundwater Information Network).

Oil and gas drilling activity is largely concentrated in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 2021, there were 2,947 wells drilled in Alberta. Saskatchewan also saw over 1,350 new wells drilled that year.

Oil and gas wells drilled in Alberta in 2021 had a combined length of over ***** kilometers. This was more than triple the drilling length of wells in Saskatchewan, which was the province seeing the second greatest drilling activity that year.

The map shows the location of the six hydrogeological regions in Canada and the location of observation wells. The terrain composition is also shown on the map, which includes crystalline rocks, mixed crystalline rocks, folded sedimentary rocks and flat lying sedimentary rocks. The southern limit of continuous permafrost zone and the limit of the discontinuous permafrost zone appear on the map. Canada has been divided into six hydrogeological regions on the basis of similarities of geology, climate, and topography. These six hydrogeological regions are (1) the Appalachians, covering the area of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Gaspé and Eastern Townships of Quebec; (2) the St. Lawrence Lowlands, covering Anticosti Island, the extreme southern area of Quebec, and the southern part of Ontario; (3) the Canadian Shield, lying north of the St. Lawrence Lowlands and extending northward to a line joining the north end of Lake Winnipeg to Anticosti Island; (4) the Interior Plains, lying approximately south of the southern limit of discontinuous permafrost and consisting largely of the southern prairie regions of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta; (5) the Cordilleran Region, the mountainous part of western Canada within British Columbia; and (6) the Northern Region, approximately covering the area north of the southern limit of discontinuous permafrost. To monitor the groundwater flow systems and fluctuations in these hydrogeological regions a series of groundwater observation wells and piezometers have been established in various parts of Canada, as is shown on the map. The groundwater observation well map indicates the extent of provincial observation well and piezometer networks in Canada. Because of scale limitations, the symbols on the map may indicate more than one well. These wells and piezometers have been established in the southern part of Canada to monitor groundwater fluctuations and may also be used to monitor groundwater quality. Since this region of Canada has the largest population density, groundwater is of more immediate interest here. In the areas of discontinuous and continuous permafrost little has been done at present to monitor groundwater conditions, although this is changing as mineral exploration looks north for new reserves.

This data set is a compilation of analytical data from a six-year wellhead sampling program, the objective of which was to analyze brines in Saskatchewan to determine the potential for economic concentrations of trace elements. Samples were collected during the summers of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018. A total of 177 samples are presented here.Samples were taken directly from the wellhead of currently producing wells and were analyzed for all major and minor elements, including the following trace elements: aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, bromine, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, iodine, lead, lithium, and magnesium. The samples were also analyzed for HCO3, SO4, total dissolved solids, and pH.

The St. Denis National Wildlife Area (SDNWA) is a collection of wetland ponds within the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Water quality and soil sediment data have been collected from numerous wetland ponds for decades, with the data provided here ranging from 2006-2023. Much of this data has been collected from the University of Regina through two labs – Dr. Britt Hall’s – as well as the University of Saskatchewan from Dr. Helen Baulch’s lab. Many of their students have been involved in the collection of this data and are exploring this data for their own research projects. Further inquiries on the data can be referred to: Britt Hall: britt.hall@uregina.ca or Jeff Harder: jeffrey.harder@ec.gc.ca

**Please Note – All published Saskatchewan Geological Survey datasets, including those available through the Saskatchewan Mining and Petroleum GeoAtlas, are sourced from the Enterprise GIS Data Warehouse. They are therefore identical and share the same refresh schedule. This map service is used by the GeoATLAS web application, sub-section Resource Map in the Mineral Exploration theme. It includes Base Metals Potential, Coal Potential, Gold Potential, Helium Potential, Bitumen (Oil Sands) Potential, Lithium Potential, Potash and Salt Resource Potential, Rare Earth Elements Potential and Uranium Potential schema in Production Data Warehouse. Note: Oil and Gas pools are found in the /Petroleum service.

The Province of Alberta monitors surface water quality in streams and rivers across the province on behalf of Albertans. River water quality monitoring consists of core long term monitoring programs, as well as short-term focused studies with defined scientific questions. The Long Term River Network (LTRN) is a well-established core provincial monitoring program for Alberta’s major rivers, several of which cross interprovincial and international boundaries. Further information is available in “A five-year provincial water quality monitoring, evaluation and reporting plan for lotic systems”, found here: https://open.alberta.ca/publications/9781460141366.

The map shows the location of 565 lakes and reservoirs with a total lake area larger than 100 square kilometres or 38.6 square miles. A table shows the fifteen largest lakes ranked by their area with their maximum depth. An examination of inland hydrologic subsystems must stress the roles of lakes and lake systems. This is particularly true in Canada, where fresh water covers about 8 per cent of the surface area, an area greater than the province of Alberta, which comprises about 5 per cent of the Canadian landmass. The rate at which water is evaporated from large lake surfaces depends on the surface temperature of lakes. Although the hydraulic flow-through forces are the most significant in influencing the rate at which lakes lose water downstream on the surface, lake currents may also be established because of horizontal differences in lake water density. Wind-induced seiches have often caused substantial rapid fluctuations in lake levels, resulting in flooding and other water management problems in large lake systems. Prolonged wind "set-up" can increase lake water levels at one end of a lake causing similar problems. In the Great Lakes, for example Lake Erie, intense storms have produced changes as great as 2 metres in water levels along the shoreline. Lake scientists (limnologists) have attempted to classify lake types by using many different criteria. Some small northern lakes occupy basins made within ice sheets, but these are small and rather unstable lake types. Examples of lake formation by other than glacial action can be found in Canada, including the interesting meteorite crater containing Ungava Lake in Quebec. Relatively large lakes have been "created" through the damming of major river systems and the establishment of large reservoirs. Well-known examples are Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan and Manicouagan in Quebec. Before conducting such projects, it is essential that all aspects of the environmental system be examined in order to anticipate properly the consequences of drastic alterations in a natural hydrologic system. An important factor is the impact of sedimentation. While Lake Diefenbaker has a projected life of 1000 years, smaller reservoirs can silt up almost completely well within the project design period, for example, Bassano Dam (in Alberta) on the Bow River.