PlaceDossier / BC places / Aquifers
BC aquifer 973 · sand and gravel · 1.6 km² · Sunshine Coast
Aquifer 973: North Thormanby Island
Aquifer 973 (North Thormanby Island) is a confined sand and gravel (glacial) aquifer of 1.6 km² in the Sunshine Coast regional district, mapped in 2012. The province rates its productivity low, its vulnerability to contamination from the surface moderate, and the demand on it moderate. 9 wells on record are linked to it; water-supply wells there are typically 13.4 m deep and tested at a median 56.8 L/min.
How the province rates it
Productivity low, vulnerability moderate, 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 | moderate (class B) | Some natural protection (class B), which can vary across the aquifer. |
| 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 (2012) 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
9 wells on record are linked to this aquifer.
| Wells linked | 9 (2 water-supply) |
|---|---|
| Water-supply well depth | median 13.4 m; middle half 13.3 m to 13.6 m (2 wells) |
| Tested yield | median 56.8 L/min; middle half 47.3 L/min to 66.2 L/min (2 wells tested) |
| Water level below ground | median 2.7 m when drilled (2 wells) |
| Drilled | 1977 to 2006 |
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 Sunshine Coast, Electoral Area B.
| Kind | Confined sand and gravel - glacial |
|---|---|
| Geological unit | Sand, silty sand, and gravel |
| Location, as described | North Thormanby Island |
| Area | 1.6 km² |
| Water use | Household wells |
| Water quality concerns | None documented |
| Mapped | 2012 |
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 973.
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.
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.