Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country)

The Province's monitoring records hold groundwater samples from 3 wells in Area I, 2003 to 2024, among them 2 of the Province's observation wells. No well's median passed Health Canada's limits for arsenic, fluoride, manganese, uranium, nitrate or lead. A report names the nearest sampled wells within 10 km of a lot. A neighbouring well isn't your water: test your own. What BC's well water tests for, by place.

Mapped aquifers

9 mapped aquifers lie in Area I, most wells first.

1. 1Aquifer 133: Cache Creek to Scottie Creekconfined sand and gravel (glacial)48 wells · high productivity
2. 2Aquifer 134: Cache Creek to north of Maiden Creekunconfined sand and gravel (small stream system)30 wells · high productivity
3. 3Aquifer 135: Semlin Valleyconfined sand and gravel (glacial)22 wells · high productivity
4. 4Aquifer 1163: Agate Aquiferconfined sand and gravel (glacial)12 wells · high productivity
5. 5Aquifer 716: Spences Bridgeunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)10 wells · high productivity
6. 6Aquifer 719: Ashcroft; west side of Thompson Riverunconfined sand and gravel (medium stream system)4 wells · moderate productivity
7. 7Aquifer 718: Ashcroft; Ashcroft Ranchunconfined sand and gravel (late glacial outwash)3 wells · moderate productivity
8. 8Aquifer 717: South of Ashcroft; east side of Thompson Riverconfined sand and gravel (glacial)3 wells · high productivity
9. 9Aquifer 136: Mauvais Rocher Indian Reserve 5unconfined sand and gravel (alluvial or colluvial fan)1 well · high productivity

An aquifer is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it, so a sliver of one at the edge can be left out. Wells and productivity are for the whole aquifer, which can reach well beyond Area I. The province maps aquifers mostly in settled valleys, so a lot outside every outline can still have groundwater. Every mapped aquifer in BC · sampled lakes.

Sampled lakes

4 sampled lakes lie in Area I, largest first.

1. 1Barnes Lake44.2 hatoo few readings to judge
2. 2Venables Lake40.2 hatoo few readings to judge
3. 3Willard Lake18.9 hatoo few readings to judge
4. 4Blue Earth Lake11.3 hatoo few readings to judge

A lake is listed for each place that holds at least a twentieth of it or 100 ha of it. Clarity is the median summer Secchi depth; the nutrient class is our reading of Carlson's index from phosphorus or chlorophyll, not a provincial rating. Either is given only for a lake with at least 10 summer readings from open water, spread over at least 3 different years, since 2012. Most lakes have never been sampled, so a lake missing here may simply have no record. Every sampled lake in BC.

Source: Groundwater wells (GWELLS), Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Ground Water Aquifers, Water Protection and Sustainability Branch, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); BC Environmental Monitoring Data System (EnMoDS) results, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

Normals for 1981-2010 at the Red Lake station, about 24 km from Walhachin (of the communities here with a station within 30 km, the one with the most addresses); ECCC has no fuller 1991-2020 set for it. Its normals don't include the frost-free period, days with snow on the ground, days over 30 °C or degree days, so those are left out. * Based on at least 20 or 15 of the 30 years, short of the World Meteorological Organization's standard: treat as a rougher guide. The records are single days measured at the station: the most rain, snow and wind it saw in its record up to 2010 (ECCC's 1981-2010 sets give records over the station's whole history, so some dates are older than 1981). Each is one event, not what to expect in a year, and the lot can get more or less than the station. Elevation matters a lot in BC: a hillside lot can be much colder and snowier than the station. We don't set this station's figures against other places: it's more than 15 km from the place.

Plant hardiness zone: most homes here are in zone 6a (39%); 19% are in 5b, 12% are in 5a, on Natural Resources Canada's 2025 map. Higher numbers are milder winters. What the zones mean.

Solar panels: a south-facing panel tilted at the latitude would make about 990 kWh a year for each kW of panels at Walhachin, about 35 of it in December (estimated from Natural Resources Canada's 1998-2022 sunshine map). An open sky is assumed: the hills, trees and buildings around a lot cut it, and a report sets the lot's own skyline beside it. What solar panels would make in BC.

By the 2050s (2041-2070) at Walhachin, climate models project about 19 more days over 30 °C a year, a longest frost-free run about 35 days longer and about 10 percentage points less of winter's precipitation falling as snow, each against the same models' 1971-2000 (model projections under SSP2-4.5, a middle path for emissions). The models work on a grid of about 9 by 6 km, which averages valley floors with the slopes around them, so their own figures can sit well off a station's normals and aren't comparable with them. Their own figures there: about 36 days over 30 °C a year in 2041-2070 (range 29 to 58 across the models), against about 17 days in 1971-2000; a longest frost-free run of about 180 days (range 160 to 195), against about 145; and about 72% of winter's precipitation falling as snow (range 62% to 76%), against about 82%. The ranges run from the 10th to the 90th percentile of the models' 2041-2070 figures. The 2050s across BC.

Light at night within 1 km of Walhachin: none recorded from space, and darker than about 94% of BC's homes (2024 satellite record). A lot away from the centre can be much darker. How dark are BC's nights?

Lightning: around Walhachin, a cloud-to-ground flash within 10 km on about 6 days a year and 0.14 flashes per km² a year, more than at 3 in 4 BC homes (the Canadian Lightning Detection Network, 1998-2025 average, on a grid of about 11 by 7 km).

Source: Canadian Climate Normals 1991-2020 and 1981-2010, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Plant hardiness zones of Canada (2025 map), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Medium Resolution Digital Elevation Model (MRDEM-30), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Solar position: General Solar Position Calculations (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory; Spencer, 1971) (Public domain); Daily average solar irradiance on tilted surfaces for all of Canada (1998-2022), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Photovoltaic Potential and Solar Resource Maps of Canada (performance ratio), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada); Statistically downscaled climate indices from CMIP6 global climate models (CanDCS-M6), Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, via the Canadian Centre for Climate Services (Open Government Licence – Canada); VIIRS Nighttime Lights, 2024 annual composite, Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines (Elvidge et al. 2021, Remote Sensing 13(5):922), via Hengl, OpenGeoHub, Zenodo doi 10.5281/zenodo.7750174 (CC BY 4.0); Canadian Lightning Detection Network cloud-to-ground flashes (CanCPLDv1), Environment and Climate Change Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).

The BC Energy Regulator maps about 36 km of active oil and gas pipeline in Area I, permitted to FortisBC Energy Inc. Under a kilometre is abandoned or deactivated, often still in the ground. A report lists any pipeline within 200 m of a lot, and flags one within 30 m, where digging needs the permit holder's agreement. Pipelines in BC, by place.

The Province lists 6 active waste discharge authorizations in Area I; the commonest kinds: composting site (3), roofing plant (1) and soil amendment (biosolids or other wastes spread on land) (1). Of these, 4 may discharge to air and 1 effluent to water or land. A report lists any within 2 km of a lot, and flags one whose point is on it. Permitted discharges in BC, by place.

The Province maps 2 open gravel pits and quarries in Area I: Casadio Quarry and Walhachin Ballast Quarry; and 6 other open mine permits: 4 mineral exploration permit areas and 2 mineral exploration or mine permit areas. A report lists the permits within 2 km of a lot, names an open pit or quarry within 500 m and flags one whose permit area takes in the lot. Gravel pits and mine permits in BC, by place.

On ParcelMap BC, the land in Area I is 3% private, 18% Crown land with a parcel drawn (17% with no title), 1% federal; no parcel is mapped over 78%, likely most of it untitled Crown land, with lakes and road allowances. A report says who owns the land along a lot's line. Crown land next to a property, and every place's land by owner.

The Ministry of Forests maps 41 active Crown range tenures (41 grazing) reaching into Area I, over 44% of its area, licensed for about 41,717 animal unit months of grazing a year in all. Outside a pound district, keeping livestock off a lot is the owner's fence to build. A report lists any tenure within 1 km of a lot. Open range and grazing in BC, by place.

The Province maps 23 registered traplines over 98% of the area and 4 guide outfitter territories over 35% in Area I. The maps are drawn over titled land too, but traplines are registered on Crown land: on titled land, anyone but the owner or occupier needs their written permission to trap. A report says whether either takes in a lot. Traplines and guiding territories in BC, by place.

Area I lies in wildlife management units 3-17 (32%), 3-16 (23%), 3-18 (17%), 3-13 (8%), 3-30 (7%), 3-15 (7%): the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis sets seasons and closed areas by unit. Hunting and shooting on your own property.

BC Parks maps 18 parks and protected areas (Arrowstone Park, a provincial park; Bedard Aspen Park, a provincial park; Blue Earth Lake Park, a provincial park; Cornwall Hills Park, a provincial park; and 14 more) reaching into Area I, over 21% of its land. Recreation Sites and Trails BC lists 9 sites there. A report names the nearest park and recreation site within 25 km of a lot. Parks and recreation sites in BC, by place.

Check one lot: is there a mineral claim? · power lines nearby? · pipelines nearby? · a gravel pit nearby? · a landfill or plant nearby? · logging planned nearby? · cattle on open range? · is there a trapline? · can I hunt on it? · a park nearby? · Crown land next door?

Source: Mineral, placer and coal tenures, Mineral Titles Branch (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); 2021 census subdivision boundaries, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

Census figures are from 2021; the next census results start in 2027. Area boundaries are Statistics Canada's census subdivisions, which follow municipal and electoral area lines. The places named at the top are the official place names in the area (BC Geographical Names) with the most 2021 homes nearer them than any other name, on ISED's home points: our reading.

Source: Census of Population 2021, Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence); BC Geographical Names, Province of BC (Open Government Licence – British Columbia); Pseudo-Household Demographic Distribution (2021), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).