News release

Groundwater is Nova Scotia's Buried Treasure, Op-ed

Environment (April 2008 - Feb. 2021)

NOTE: The following is an op-ed piece for World Water Day by John Drage, hydrogeologist with the Department of Environment.


It's valuable and deep underground in almost every part of our province. We can't live without it. And yet we largely ignore it.

Nova Scotia's groundwater is precious and needs our protection. What better time than World Water Day, March 22, to remind us of the natural treasure buried beneath our feet?

Many people think groundwater flows in underground streams, but it is usually in aquifers -- areas of loose soil or fractured bedrock that are more like underground sponges.

While many people don't often think about groundwater, those familiar with its many benefits consider it buried treasure. It is the source of water for wells and springs and it is, by far, the largest source of available fresh water in the world. It accounts for 97 per cent of the world's available fresh water.

In Nova Scotia, about 150,000 groundwater wells supply half the population with water. They provide water for municipal wellfields in places such as Oxford, Amherst, Pictou, the Annapolis Valley, and Nova Scotia's largest groundwater supply in Sydney. Private wells are used by most homeowners and businesses not serviced by municipal drinking water systems.

Groundwater has a fairly steady temperature, ranging between 6C and 10C, throughout the year, making it an efficient source for heating and cooling. A groundwater heat pump can usually provide three to four times more heat energy than the electrical energy used to power it.

One of the best groundwater heat pump applications in Nova Scotia is the Ropak Can-Am Ltd. manufacturing facility in Springhill. Operating for more than 20 years, it gets groundwater from an abandoned coal mine shaft and saves $45,000 a year in heating and cooling costs.

Groundwater also provides essential services to ecological habitats, flowing into streams, rivers, wetlands and lakes. Streams can still run in summer after several weeks without rain because of groundwater baseflow. In periods of drought, baseflow can account for all of the flow in a stream. The constant temperature of groundwater is especially important in the summer because it helps keep water at a temperature needed for aquatic life.

To continue to enjoy such benefits, we must protect and use groundwater wisely. The two most important tips to accomplish that are keep it clean and avoid over-pumping. Preventing groundwater contamination is usually much less costly than cleaning it up.

Groundwater can be contaminated by petroleum spills such as gasoline, fuel oil and by poorly working septic systems. Properly maintaining tanks and systems is the key way to prevent such contamination. Naturally occurring groundwater contaminants can also affect well water. The most common in Nova Scotia are arsenic, uranium and bacteria. They have no taste or smell so it is important to test well water regularly to be sure it is safe to drink.

In most provinces, over-pumping is controlled through government approvals for high-capacity wells. In Nova Scotia, a government permit is needed for wells that pump more than 23,000 litres per day. The province also operates a groundwater observation network of 31 wells across the province to provide information on groundwater quantity and quality. It can evaluate the impact of human activities and the long-term trends associated with issues such as climate change.

World Water Day helps focus more attention the groundwater Nova Scotians rely on so heavily. This water supplies homes and businesses and maintains healthy ecological habitats. Everyone should share in the responsibility to protect and wisely use it.

For more information on groundwater and wells, contact the Department of Environment at 1-877-9ENVIRO (1-877-936-8476) or visit www.gov.ns.ca/nse/groundwater/ .

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