Industry in the Region

Protecting our Groundwater

NCIA’s regional groundwater quality study is a major initiative that began in 2003, conducted in collaboration with Alberta Environment and Water. It is designed to help industries, governments and the community to understand and maintain the quality of the region’s groundwater.

Phase I (completed)

The first stage of the study (Phase I), completed in 2004, gathered all existing information on groundwater in the area and assembled it into a central database.

Phase II (completed)

Phase II began early in 2005 and was completed in 2006. It involved drilling 23 test holes in Fort Saskatchewan, Sturgeon County and Strathcona County to address gaps in the existing information. Thirteen of those test holes were converted to monitoring wells, to complement the existing well networks operated by both industry and Alberta Environment in the region.

Phase III (completed)

Phase III began in 2007 and was completed in late 2010. It involved continuing assessment of current groundwater quality, as well as the use of computer models to examine how groundwater could be affected by a variety of hypothetical natural and human-caused events. By understanding how a range of possible events might affect groundwater, improved strategies for maintaining groundwater quality can be developed. This information will now help inform the larger regional groundwater management plan under the province’s cumulative effects management approach for the Industrial Heartland and Capital Region. Information will be made available as part of the completion of the regional groundwater management plan currently underway.