Water Supply Town of Stettler

During 1957 and 1958, the Research Council of Alberta undertook a groundwater survey of the Stettler area to investigate the distribution and characteristics of aquifers within the area. Several problems were encountered during the course of the investigation, the most important of these was the shortage of water in Stettler.

The Town of Stettler has relied upon wells as a source of water since the distribution system was first installed. There are no nearby sources of surface water and in the past an adequate supply of water was obtained at low cost from a few wells located in the town. The increased demand for water caused by the rapid increase in population since 1949 and increasing per capita consumption, severely overburdened the capacity of the existing supply wells. Despite the addition of several new wells to the supply system during the period from 1949 to 1958, the quantity of water available from the present total of 10 producing wells in the well field is insufficient to supply the peak-load demand to the distribution system. The problem now facing the town is where to obtain the additional amount of water to satisfy both the immediate demand and to provide for increased requirements in the future.

This report summarizes the information obtained during the investigation and suggests methods of applying this information to the problem of locating and developing new sources of water supply for Stettler.