BC aquifer 1284 · sand and gravel · 30 km² · Kootenay Boundary

Aquifer 1284: Beaver Creek Overburden

Aquifer 1284 (Beaver Creek Overburden) is an unconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash) aquifer of 30 km² in the Kootenay Boundary regional district, mapped in 2022. The province rates its productivity moderate, its vulnerability to contamination from the surface high, and the demand on it not rated. 56 wells on record are linked to it; water-supply wells there are typically 19.1 m deep and tested at a median 75.7 L/min.

How the province rates it

Productivity moderate, vulnerability high, demand not rated.

	Rating	What it means
Productivity how much water the aquifer gives up to wells, judged from well yields, the aquifer material and pumping tests	moderate	Middling yields: the guide's moderate band is medium sand, or typical well yields of about 0.3 to 3 L/s (18 to 180 L/min).
Vulnerability how easily something spilled at the ground surface could reach the water, judged from what lies above the aquifer and how deep the water is	high (class A)	Little natural protection (the guide's class A): a shallow water table or sand and gravel above it lets surface water and spills soak down quickly.
Demand how much the aquifer is used now, judged from the number and density of wells and what they're used for	not rated	The province hasn't rated this for this aquifer.
Level of development Inferred demand compared with productivity	unclear	Unclear: the province hasn't rated both demand and productivity.

Ratings are the province's, set when the aquifer was mapped (2022) from wells, geology and local studies. Vulnerability is about the ground, not what's built on it: a well-protected aquifer under a busy area can still be at more risk than an exposed one in the bush.

Sources: Ground Water Aquifers, Water Protection and Sustainability Branch, Province of BC and Groundwater Wells (GWELLS), Province of BC, as published on October 1, 2026 (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); ratings explained after Berardinucci and Ronneseth (2002), Guide to Using the BC Aquifer Classification Maps for the Protection and Management of Groundwater, BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. Summaries by PlaceDossier.

The wells in it

56 wells on record are linked to this aquifer.

Wells linked	56 (48 water-supply)
Water-supply well depth	median 19.1 m; middle half 16.8 m to 32.6 m (48 wells)
Tested yield	median 75.7 L/min; middle half 37.9 L/min to 114 L/min (44 wells tested)
Water level below ground	median 8.2 m when drilled (42 wells)
Drilled	1950 to 2022

Well depth shallower than 78% of the 637 BC aquifers with at least 10 wells with a depth

Tested yield higher than 72% of the 542 BC aquifers with at least 10 wells tested

This aquifer's medianIts middle half of wellsAnother BC aquifer's median

Depths are how deep the driller finished the well; yields are the driller's test, often an hour or less, in litres per minute. A domestic well's yield is usually judged against the household's peak use; ask a driller what's enough for yours.

Where it is

Outline simplified by us from the provincial map; not for locating a lot. It lies under Kootenay Boundary, Electoral Area A (50%), Central Kootenay, Electoral Area G (35%), Fruitvale (9%), Central Kootenay, Electoral Area J (6%).

Kind	Unconfined sand and gravel - late glacial outwash
Geological unit	Late Wisconsinan glaciofluvial sand and gravel
Location, as described	Along Beaver Creek
Area	30 km²
Water quality concerns	Isolated: concerns documented at a few wells
Mapped	2022

Unconfined: nothing tight lies over it, so rain and surface water soak straight down to it; the water table rises and falls with the seasons. The province's page for this aquifer lists the studies behind it and its observation wells: GWELLS aquifer 1284.

What this record doesn't cover

The province maps aquifers where wells and studies give enough to go on, mostly in settled valleys; most of BC isn't mapped, and a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Outlines are drawn from geology and well logs at the scale of the study, so an edge can be well off on the ground, and one aquifer can lie under another. Wells are linked to an aquifer by provincial staff from the driller's log: not every well inside an outline is linked, and well depths and yields are as the driller reported them, often from a short test.

These are mapped ratings and drillers' records, not a test of any one lot. Before you buy a property on a well, or plan to drill, ask a qualified hydrogeologist or a registered well driller what this aquifer gives where you are, and test the water.