Nova Scotia Well Logs Database

Metadata for DP ME 430, Version 5, 2022, Enhanced Georeferenced Version of the Department of Environment and Climate Change's Nova Scotia Well Logs Database

Table Of Contents




Identification Information

Citation Information
  Title: DP ME 430, Version 5, 2022, Enhanced Georeferenced Version of the Nova Scotia Department of Environment's Nova Scotia Well Logs Database
  Originator: G. W. Kennedy , B. E. Fisher
  Publication Date: 2022
  Edition: Version 5
  Data Type: vector digital data
  Series Name: Digital Product ME
  Issue Identification: 430
  Publisher: Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Geological Survey Division
  Publication Place: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  Online linkage: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp430.asp
 
Data Description
  Abstract: The Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (NRR) (formerly the Department of Energy and Mines) and Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC) maintains an electronic Well Log Database which contains water well construction and location information for water wells in the Province of Nova Scotia. Information in the database is entered from original paper copies of well logs that are submitted by certified well drillers and well diggers to NSECC. This version of the database was extracted on January 5, 2022 and contains 125,517 well logs constructed between 1940 and 2021, inclusive.
  Purpose: The water well information included in the NS Well Logs Database is intended for the purpose of water resource management. The information is not to be used for any other purpose.
  Supplemental Information: Data Set ID = dp430ns Data Class = hgeo
  Language English
  Data Environment ArcGIS 10.5.1
  Native Data Set Format File Geodatabase
 
Contact Information

    Jeff Poole
    Nova Scotia of Natural Resources and Renewables, Geoscience and Mines Branch
    Digital Information Services Supervisor
    1701 Hollis Street, P.O. Box 698
    Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
    B3J 2T9
    (phone) (902) 424-8139
    (fax) (902) 434-7735
    Jeff.Poole@novascotia.ca
    Available: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm AST
 
Time Period Information
  Currentness Reference: publication date
 
Data Status
  Progress: In work
  Update Frequency: As needed
 
Spatial Domain
  West Coordinate: -66.5
  East Coordinate: -59.50
  North Coordinate: 47.25
  South Coordinate: 43.25
  G-Poly coordinates
  G-Poly Pair(1 of 5) 47.25, -66.50
  G-Poly Pair(2 of 5) 47.25, -59.50
  G-Poly Pair(3 of 5) 43.25, -59.50
  G-Poly Pair(4 of 5) 43.25, -66.5
  G-Poly Pair(5 of 5) 47.25, -66.5

 
Keywords
  Theme Keywords: Geologic & Geophysical ; geoscientificInformation ; hydrogeology ; water well logs ; water wells ; groundwater ; Downloadable Data ; digital databases ; digital products ; digital geoscience data ; Hydrogeology (HG) ; HG Databases ; water well data ; well logs database
  Place Keywords: Nova Scotia
 
Access and Usage Information
  Access Constraints: The access constraints are contained in the following Nova Scotia Open Government Licence and the User Constraints which the user must agree to before using the data. The link to the Nova Scotia Open Government Licence is: https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp
  Use Constraints: Any constraints on the use of the data are contained in the above license agreement. The terms and conditions of the license accompany the downloaded digital product. A statement of some use constraints can be viewed in the technical prerequisites.
 
Browse Graphic Information
  Filename: None
  Description: None at this time
 
Security Information
  Classification System: None
  Classification: Unclassified
  Handling Description: None
 
Cross Reference Information
 
Cross Reference (1 of 1)
  Title: Enhanced Georeferenced Version of the Nova Scotia Department of Environment's Nova Scotia Well Logs Database



Data Quality Information
 
Positional Accuracy
  Horizontal Accuracy Report: There may be positional accuracy errors in the digital data that come from the original data collection. The data set contains data gathered from numerous surveys and the accuracy may vary between these. UTM Coordinates (Northings and Eastings): Northings and eastings are in NAD83, zone 20 metric units. UTM coordinates in the database have been approximated based on the various levels of available georeferencing accuracy. The method used is recorded in the Georef_M field, the source of the data is recorded in the Georef_S field, and the associated accuracy of the UTM is recorded in the Georef_A field. A further description of the georeferencing method, source and accuracy can be found in the descriptions of the Georef_M, Georef_S and Georef_A fields.
 
Source Information
 
Source Citation (1 of 3)
  Title: Nova Scotia Well Logs Database
  Originator: Nova Scotia Department of Environment
  Publication Date: March 6, 2020
  Data Form: tabular digital data
  Publication Place: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  Publisher: Nova Scotia Department of Environment
  Source Media: MS Access database
  Source Contribution: The well log records come from the Nova Scotia Well Logs Database published by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment
  Currentness Reference: publication date
  Online Linkage: https://novascotia.ca/nse/water/welldatabase.asp
 
Source Citation (2 of 3)
  Title: DP ME 9, Version 2, 2005. Nova Scotia Claim Reference Map Grid
  Originator: B. E. Fisher , J. C. Poole
  Publication Date: 2005
  Data Form: vector digital data
  Series Name: Digital Product ME
  Issue Identification: 9
  Publication Place: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  Publisher: Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Mineral Resources Branch
  Online Linkage: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp009.asp
 
Source Citation (3 of 3)
  Title: Nova Scotia Mapbook and Atlas Grids
  Originator: B. E. Fisher
  Publication Date: 2007
  Data Form: vector digital data
  Other Citation Details: Unpublished data. Located at: Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines, Geoscience and Mines Branch. File names: h430nsix_new_map_book_grid.shp (Atlas) and h430nsix_old_map_book_grid (map book).
 
Processing Step Information
 
Processing Step (1 of 11)
  Description: The Well Logs Database was first published in an MS Access format in 2003 by Nova Scotia Environment. The creation of the database included data entry of older hard copy logs and conversion of a FoxPro database to MS Access format. The database is updated on an annual basis and can be downloaded from: https://novascotia.ca/nse/water/welldatabase.asp
  Software and Version: Unknown
  Date: 2003
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (2 of 11)
  Description: The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) obtained a copy of the 2007 Well Logs Database for the purpose of assigning UTM coordinates to each well log. The Well Logs DB was first updated with the UTM coordinates of wells previously located in the field by DNR staff (Brian Fisher). For all wells that did not have UTMs generated using GPS equipment (drillers were given GPS units after 2004) the following processing steps were conducted: Where a PID was available in the 'PropertPID' field of the database, the PID centroid was assigned to the well log. The following methods were then used (in order of decreasing georeference accuracy) to generate UTMs for the well logs from grid centroids: NTS claim reference, Nova Scotia Atlas grid reference, Nova Scotia Mapbook grid reference, NTS tract reference. The remaining logs missing UTM coordinates were generated using the community centroid from the NS Gazeteer file. Finally, other existing databases (e.g. pumping test database) were cross-checked with the well logs database, and if a better location estimate was available, the UTM was assigned to the well log (Gavin Kennedy). All units in the database were converted to metric.
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 9.2 and others
  Date: 2007-2008
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (3 of 11)
  Description: The Well Logs Database was converted to a shapefile and shown on a 1:500K map of the Province. QA/QC work was conducted and UTMs were reassigned where georeferencing errors were detected (Gavin Kennedy).
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 9.2
  Date: 2008
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (4 of 11)
  Description: Processing steps were repeated when new data became available (i.e. 2008 version of the NS Well Logs database) (Gavin Kennedy).
  Software and Version: Unknown
  Date: 2008
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (5 of 11)
  Description: Community and county pairings were standardized to ensure consistency with the NS Gazeteer file (e.g. Enfield, Halifax County changed to Enfield, Hants County) (Gavin Kennedy).
  Software and Version: Unknown
  Date: 2009
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (6 of 11)
  Description: The DNR enhanced georeferenced version of the database was released in formats usable in GIS software in May 2009 as digital product DP 430.
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 9.3
  Date: May 2009
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (7 of 11)
  Description: Processing steps were repeated as new data became available with each annual MS Access release of the DB. Although a formal DP release of the database was not issued, the interactive map was updated annually to reflect the latest version of the well logs database. Georeferencing of well logs in some areas was improved as part of the project work, using hard copy map locations of wells and civic addresses to generate UTMs (Gavin Kennedy).
  Software and Version: Unknown
  Date: 2009-2012
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (8 of 11)
  Description: The 2012 version of the NSE Well Logs Database was released by DNR in formats usable in GIS software in June 2013 as an updated version of DP 430. Additional fields were added in the 2013 release (Gavin Kennedy).
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 10.0
  Date: June 2013
  Contact Person: (see Contact Information)
 
Processing Step (9 of 11)
  Description: The 2018 version of the NSE Well Logs Database was released by the Department of Energy and Mines in formats usable in GIS software in July 2018 as an updated version of DP 430.
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 10.2
  Date: July 2018
 
Processing Step (10 of 11)
  Description: The 2020 version of the NSE Well Logs Database was extracted on March 6, 2020 and released by the Department of Energy and Mines in formats usable in GIS software in April 2020 as an updated version of DP 430.
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 10.5.1
  Date: April 2020
 
Processing Step (11 of 11)
  Description: The 2022 version of the NSE Well Logs Database (version 5) was extracted on January 5, 2022 and released by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables in formats usable in GIS software in January 2022 as an updated version of DP 430.
  Software and Version: ArcGIS 10.5.1
  Date: January 2022


 
Spatial Data Organization Information

  Spatial Reference Method: Point


 
Spatial Reference Information

  Data Projection: Transverse Mercator
  Geographic Coordinate System: GCS_North_American_1983_CSRS
  Projected Coordinate System: NAD_1983_CSRS_UTM_Zone_20N
  Datum: D_North_American_1983_CSRS
  Ellipsoid: Geodetic Reference System 80
  Semi-Major Axis: 6378137.000000
  Denominator Of Flattening Axis: 298.257222



 
Entity Attribute Information

 
Overview Description
  Dataset Overview: The dataset represents the Nova Scotia Water Wells database. The dataset contains a shapefile (point) that contains the spatial locations of over 125,517 wells throughout the province.
  Entity/Attribute Overview: The detailed description below describes each of the shapefiles and associated tables that make up this data set. The definition source contains a link to the metadata for the attribute information for each of the shapefiles and tables.
 
Detailed Description
 
Data Layer/Table (1 of 3)
  Table Name: h430nsww.shp
  Description: ArcGIS shapefile points - water wells
  Metadata Link: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp430nsww.asp
 
Data Layer/Table (2 of 3)
  Table Name: h430ns_water_wells
  Description: ArcGIS geodatabase point feature class - water wells
  Metadata Link: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp430nsww.asp
 
Data Layer/Table (3 of 3)
  Table Name: h430nsww.kmz
  Description: KMZ file - water wells
  Metadata Link: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp430nsww.asp


 
Distribution Information

  Description: Downloadable Data
  Available: since 2022
  Liability: The Information is licensed "as is", and the Information Provider excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law. The Information Provider is not liable for any errors or omissions in the Information, and will not under any circumstances be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other loss, injury or damage caused by its use or otherwise arising in connection with this licence or the Information, even if specifically advised of the possibility of such loss, injury or damage. The terms and conditions of the Nova Scotia Open Government licence accompany the downloaded digital product and can be found at: https://novascotia.ca/opendata/licence.asp
  Technical Prerequisite: In order to view our digital files on your computer, you require mapping software (e.g. ArcMap, QGIS, MapInfo, AutoCAD). Links for these and other map viewers can be found at https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/mapviewers.asp Data Formats GMB provides its digital data products in a number of formats. You can find our more information on these format and how to use them at https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dpformat.asp. Fonts A number of DEM or GSC fonts may be required to properly view our data sets in an ArcMap project or to view the hard copy maps in a PDF format (normally the fonts will be embedded in the PDF). The fonts required for a particular dataset may be found in the c:\nsdnr\dp999v9XX\d999YY\arcmap\fonts directory on your computer after you download the data set. In order to see a complete list of fonts that are used and to download the DEM and GSC fonts from our web site please go to https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dpexttool.asp. Any of these fonts can be installed on your computer by going to Start - Settings - Control Panel - Fonts - File - Install. ArcMap Project Information Our GDB products include an ArcMap project which have all of the GDB feature classes symbolized and tables loaded with links and joins already created. This project uses relative paths so it should be drive and path independent. It can be found in the c:\data_set_id\arcmap\project directory. ArcView Project Information Our SHP products include an ArcView project which have all of the shapefiles symbolized and tables loaded with link and joins already created. This project uses relative paths so it should be drive and path independent. It can be found in the c:\data_set_id\arcview\project directory. ArcExplorer Project Information We have also included an ArcExplorer 2 project (.aep) and an ArcExplorer 4 (.axl) project for this data set that can be found in the c:\data_set_id\arcexpl directory. The shapefiles are already loaded and have limited symbolization, any related tables are not loaded. The AEP project uses relative paths and should be no problem using it without any changes. The AXL project includes a string "#DPMEPATH#" which you will need to search for and replace with your drive letter and a colon (ex: c:) in order to make the project work. Please note the if you do not install the data set using the default path you may need to replace other parts of the reference to the path in the AXL. Hotlinks In order to use the hotlink feature within ArcView 3.x in you may need to load GMB's Hotlink Anything extension which may be located in the arcview/ext directory along with documentation. You may also need to set the variable MEBGIS_HOME on your system to the location of the data set on your system. The SHP product provides an ArcView project set up with the hotlinks working. Some modifications to the HOTLINK field in the database tables or in the HLFILES may be required to make the hotlink work properly. Knowledge of ArcView and hotlinks may be required to make this work properly. A feature called hotlinks is used in ArcView to link a feature such as a mineral occurrence or cross section to a single text file, image or web site etc. For features that we want to link multiple items or documents to we have developed our own hotlink extension for ArcView 3.x called "Hotlink Anything". The extension and documentation on how to install the extension, and set the required MEBGIS_HOME variable to the location of the data set on your system is included in the x:\nsgov\dig_prod_num\data_set_id\arcview\ext directory (example - c:\nsgov\dp305v1sh\g118a\arcview\ext) assuming that you used our default directories when downloading the data. The SHP product provides an ArcView project set up with the hotlinks working. Some modifications to the HOTLINK field in the database tables or in the HLFILES.TXT file may be required to make the hotlink work properly. Knowledge of ArcView and hotlinks may be required to make the native hotlink utility or our extension work properly Geological maps and associated digital products are intended for use at the published scale of the map.
  Ordering Fee: Free
  Instructions: The dataset can be downloaded from the internet
  Distribution Contact:
    See contact information
 
Digital Form: (1 of 1)
  format name: ESRI Shapefile (SHP), File Geodatabase (GDB) and KML/KMZ file
  format version: 10.5.1
  format specification: dp430v5sgk_NS_Water_Wells.zip
  Transfer Size: 24 MB
  Dataset Size: 134 MB
  Information Content: Contains data pertaining to well logs.
  Decompression Technique: Zip File
  Online Transfer: https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/download/dp430.asp


 
Metadata Reference

  Creation Date: 20220105
  Metadata Standard: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
  Standard Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
  Metadata Language: English
  Time Convention: local time
  Access Constraints: None
  User Constraints: None
  Security Classification System: None
  Security Classification: Unclassified
  Security Handling Description: None
  Metadata Contact:
    See contact information