Groundwater Observation Well Network: Athabasca Oil Sands Area

In 1974, the Groundwater Division of the Alberta Research Council investigated the regional hydrogeology of the Athabasca Oil Sands area. The purpose of this study was to develop a hydrogeological model of the area for use in technical and environmental planning. Some examples of potential uses of the model are

- locating water supplies for towns and processing plants,

- planning dewatering schemes near mines,

- determining the position of storage sites for solid and liquid industrial waste on the surface or underground, and

- planning restoration of disturbed land.

Groundwater data are not abundant in the area, so installation of groundwater observation wells was necessary. These observation wells were drilled in groups to sample heads and chemistry at various depths below the surface. Seven sites (numbers 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9), containing 36 individual wells, were instrumented in this manner during the winter of 1974-75. Eight sites (numbered 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17), containing 38 individual wells, were instrumented during the winter of 1975-76.

This publication groups the information by site. There is one publication for each well site. Included in each site publication are

- geological and geophysical logs;

- annual hydrographs,

- drillstem test results,

- aquifer testing results,

- well history,

- water analyses, and

- well completion details.

Each site publication is divided into sections dealing with each individual well in addition to an introduction and legend. There are 15 piezometer nests in the system. Table 1 lists the location of wells in the system as of August 31, 1976. Figure 1 indicates the location of these wells.