Canada’s groundwater resources

In 1967, the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) published the first detailed account of groundwater resources in Canada (Brown 1967). Simply titled Groundwater in Canada, this early text discussed the principles of hydrogeology and defined six major hydrogeological regions for the country. Distributed as a report from the GSC’s Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, the state of groundwater studies and data in the mid 1960s was summarized from the viewpoint of further exploring and developing aquifers. In the preface of Groundwater in Canada, it was noted that water was “rightly regarded as a major factor in the economy of the nation.” Forty-seven years later, the forward to Canada’s groundwater resources partly echoes this message, but also reinforces the importance of groundwater in sustaining the nation’s environment as well.

Canada’s groundwater resources was compiled and edited by the GSC’s chief hydrogeologist, with the contributions of 50 people from various organizations across the country, including the GSC (30%), academia (26%), provincial government (20%) and other groundwater-related agencies (24%). Canada’s groundwater resources certainly fulfils the intended vision of being considered a modern and expanded version of Groundwater in Canada. In addition to the advancement of technical understanding that has occurred since the mid 1960s, there is also a strong realization and focus that groundwater scientists and professionals must promote, educate and engage with a broad audience to have an impact. In this regard, Canada’s groundwater resources has been written with the interested public, decision makers and a technical audience in mind.

Canada’s groundwater resources has 16 chapters, which have been divided into five parts. Parts 1 and 2 provide a historical context of groundwater research in Canada, an introduction to the principles of hydrogeology and a description of the approach that the GSC has taken to better understand several large-scale groundwater systems. These early chapters deliver a science-based perspective for tackling the daunting task of characterizing large groundwater systems to aid water resource management. Readers would benefit from the addition of a listing of provincial agencies that are primarily responsible for the acquisition and stewardship of the fundamental data necessary for achieving these large-scale assessments. Part 3 offers a closer examination of current groundwater themes that are central to advancing the understanding of groundwater resources, including the influence and interaction with climate and surface water, sustainable use and development, and groundwater as an energy source. The content of each thematic chapter is presented with increasing complexity, in that a simple description is followed by an illustration of the concept, which is concluded with specific methods and measurements. This recipe should appeal to most readers as it covers a wide range of interests and varying backgrounds (i.e. you can keep reading for more detail, or not).

The heart of Canada’s groundwater resources is presented in Part 4, which describes nine hydrogeological regions for the nation. These regions are aligned with major zones of common geology, topography and moisture conditions across Canada. Most of the regions contain major aquifers and also have unique groundwater use issues that have been the basis for ongoing studies. The contributors to each of the regional chapters have brought together comprehensive descriptions of relevant groundwater processes and key issues. The final part of Canada’s groundwater resources concludes with some discussion of emerging groundwater management issues in Canada, a glossary and an extensive reference list.

In compiling and editing this book, Alfonso Rivera has drawn upon a large group of contributors to showcase some of the most significant hydrogeological studies in Canada. The book offers a state-of-the-knowledge report with many positive aspects. The amazing illustrations and block diagrams that are one of the trademarks of the GSC groundwater program are very helpful in conveying complexity, and thus reaching a non-technical audience. The layout is well developed and offers progressively increasing detail on the fundamental principles, with relevant case study examples shown in accompanying boxes. The significant advancement in the understanding of groundwater processes and the interaction with related scientific fields are shown by the addition of a few more hydrogeologic regions compared to Brown (1967), and the incredible number of citations. There has been a lot of good work in Canada since the 1960s.

However, with 50 contributors obtaining content from a wide assortment of publications (e.g. federal and provincial government reports, scientific publications and theses), there is an inevitable inconsistency in language and the presentation of figures. Although the aforementioned amazing illustrations and block diagrams are used throughout the book, many other figures and graphs have a widely varying style and format. Combined with some production choices, the monumental achievement of bringing together so much good work has led to a very large (and heavy) text, which might not appeal to the broader audiences this text is partly aimed toward. It might seem petty, but it is hard to look past the large font (approximately 13 point) without wondering how many pages could be saved had a slightly smaller font been used. Yet the choice of line spacing and layout has created the most peculiar coincidence of having the same figures presented on pages 48 and 49 in both Rivera (2014) and Brown (1967). In both books, the page 48-to-49 spread illustrates Hubbert’s classic 1940 flow diagram on the left page, and Toth’s classic 1962 flow hierarchy on the right page.

Canada’s groundwater resources is a significant milestone in the history of groundwater research in this country. The minor critiques noted by this reviewer do not reduce the importance of providing a science-based overview, and documenting the state of groundwater resources in Canada. Although the book succeeds in presenting an overview of the hydrogeological regions across the country, one of the key messages is that these overviews do not imply a national understanding of groundwater resources. In fact, the regional overviews set the stage to address issues that will ultimately lie within a local reality. In this regard, there is still much work to do, and continuing to advance our understanding of groundwater resources will rely on scientists and professionals more actively engaging with the public, and perhaps in a political arena. Canada’s groundwater resources has plenty of material for the interested public and decision makers to learn from; however, the size and cost of the book deter from adding it to a personal library. Canada’s groundwater resources would make a valuable addition to the library of a provincial government agency, watershed authority, municipality or consultancy. The book would be a good resource for a technical professional collaborating with non-specialist peers, and a non-technical clientele.

Brian D. Smerdon
Alberta Geological Survey
© 2015 Canadian Water Resources Association
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2014.977353