All municipalities and districts require a Letter of Certification for wells for new developments to ensure adequate yield and quality of water.
A well record contains details of the construction, alteration, or decommissioning of a well, information about lithology, and the water bearing characteristics of the aquifer.
Well records help to:
Your well record may not be in the WELLS database. Until 2016, it was voluntary for well drillers to submit most types of well reports.
If you do not have a well record, and you use your well for domestic or household purposes (e.g. for a private dwelling; water for pets; water for irrigating a garden), we recommend that you register your well to create a well record. Registering your well creates a record of your water use, which helps to ensure that your use is considered in decisions for new authorizations and during times of water scarcity.
Complete a well registration form and email it to groundwater@gov.bc.ca or mail to the address provided.
If your groundwater use is not considered domestic as defined in Section 2 of the Water Sustainability Act (WSA), you must apply for a water licenc e as of February 26, 2016. When you apply for a licence for your existing groudnwater use, a well record will be created for you.
Submit a well report or Well Registration Form by mail or email.
Deputy Comptroller Ministry of Environment PO Box 9362 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8M 9M2 groundwater@gov.bc.ca
In the WSA, groundwater use is considered domestic when the water is used for household purposes in a private dwelling. Household purposes include drinking water, food preparation, cleaning, fire prevention, providing water for animals or poultry kept as pets or for household use, and small garden.
Find the full definition in Section 2 of the WSA.
Download BC's Ground Water Protection Regulation brochure for more information.
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