Groundwater Protection

The Islands Trust has supported several island communities in their actions to learn about and sustain their groundwater resources.

We are currently working in partnership with the Hornby Island community in the implementation of the Hornby Island Groundwater Protection Project. Together with the Regional District of Comox Strathcona, the Islands Trust has provided financial support that has allowed the community to hire a coordinator for this purpose.

Development of the Hornby Island Groundwater Protection Project will provide information and strategies useful to other island communities concerned with groundwater protection.

The Islands Trust is also partnering with Natural Resources Canada, the Ministry of Environment, Malaspina University-College and Island Regional Districts to map water resource vulnerability on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The Vancouver Island Water Resource Vulnerability Mapping Project will look at intrinsic susceptibility of aquifers to contamination, develop a methodology to inventory hazardous land use and create a vulnerability layer from these two sources.

Supporting Documentation

Hornby Island

• Hornby Island Groundwater Protection Overview, 1999
• Phase II Groundwater Report, May 2002
• June 11, 2002 Minutes
• Forum September 2002 Terms of Reference
• Coordinators September 2002 Terms of Reference
• Final Report - Results of the Groundwater Geochemistry Study on Hornby Island by D. Allen and M. Suchy April 2002

Mayne Island

• Rainwater Availability and Household Water Consumption for Mayne Island, Dec 2006

Saturna Island

• Final Report - Results of the Groundwater Geochemistry Study on Saturna Island by D. Allen and M. Suchy, June 2001
• Paper - Geochemical Evolution of Groundwater on Saturna Island British Columbia by D. Allen and M. Suchy published on the NRC Research Press web site, July 2001

Gulf Islands

• Report - Dissolved Manganese in Drinking Water on the Gulf Islands: Occurrence and Toxicity by D. Allen and K. Pelude June 2001
• Water in the City Conference (Victoria BC, September 2006) Presentations: Putting People Back in the Process - Jenny MacCleod, Gabriola Groundwater Management Society | Is Your Aquifer Under Threat? - Shannon Denny, Natural Resources Canada | Aquifers of the Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands Regions - Sylvia Kenny, BC Ministry of Environmnent | Towards Groundwater Solutions - Brett Korteling, Islands Trust

Related Links

• Well Protection Toolkit
• Gulf Islands Water Poster
• British Columbia Ground Water Association
• Diana Allen, Simon Fraser University, Canada
• Okanagan Groundwater Bylaws Toolkit | Implementing the Groundwater Bylaws Toolkit, 2009