BC aquifer 586 · sand and gravel · 58 ha · Bulkley-Nechako

Aquifer 586: Smithers; Between Beavery and John Brown Creeks

Aquifer 586 (Smithers; Between Beavery and John Brown Creeks) is a confined sand and gravel (glacial) aquifer of 58 ha in the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District, mapped in 2003. The province rates its productivity low, its vulnerability to contamination from the surface low, and the demand on it moderate. 4 wells on record are linked to it; water-supply wells there are typically 35.4 m deep and tested at a median 15.1 L/min. It lies under Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area A.

How the province rates it

Productivity low, vulnerability low, demand moderate.

	Rating	What it means
Productivity how much water the aquifer gives up to wells, judged from well yields, the aquifer material and pumping tests	low	Water comes slowly: the guide's low band is silt, fine sand or fractured bedrock, or typical well yields under about 0.3 L/s (18 L/min). A well may still supply a house, but it isn't assured.
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	low (class C)	Better protected (class C), usually by clay or silt above it or deep water. Not immune: a gap in the cover or a badly sealed well can still let contaminants in.
Demand how much the aquifer is used now, judged from the number and density of wells and what they're used for	moderate	Moderately used: about 4 to 20 domestic wells per km² where homes rely on private wells.
Level of development Inferred demand compared with productivity	Heavy or moderate (class I or II)	Read by us from the guide's table of demand against productivity; where it gives two classes the mapper chose with local knowledge. Heavy (I): new wells should be carefully assessed; moderate (II): given careful thought; light (III): more use is usually fine if the aquifer can supply it.

Ratings are the province's, set when the aquifer was mapped (2003) 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

4 wells on record are linked to this aquifer.

Wells linked	4
Water-supply well depth	median 35.4 m; middle half 30.9 m to 38.6 m (4 wells)
Tested yield	median 15.1 L/min; middle half 9 L/min to 19.9 L/min (4 wells tested)
Water level below ground	median 27.6 m when drilled (2 wells)
Drilled	1981

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.

Kind	Confined sand and gravel - glacial
Location, as described	Smithers; Between Beavery and John Brown Creeks
Area	58 ha
Water use	Household wells
Water quality concerns	None documented
Mapped	2003

Confined: a layer of clay, silt or till lies over it, which slows water (and spills) from the surface; wells reach it through that layer. The province's page for this aquifer lists the studies behind it and its observation wells: GWELLS aquifer 586.

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.