Almost every home on Denman Island drinks groundwater. This page shows what the Province of British Columbia's own aquifer mapping and well registry say about where that water sits — figures verbatim, each linked to its source.
The Province of British Columbia maps a single bedrock aquifer — Aquifer 740, fractured sedimentary rock — across 47.7 km² of Denman Island (mapped 2006). The island's land area is roughly 51 km², so this one aquifer underlies nearly the entire island. Provincial classification: vulnerability High, productivity Low, demand Moderate.
Bedrock — Fractured sedimentary rock; 47.7 km², mapped 2006. Vulnerability: High; productivity Low; demand Moderate; quality concern (provincial): Local. Wells on record: 201; water licences: 2. Underlies 717 mapped Denman lots.
Sand and Gravel — Confined sand and gravel - glacial; 4.0 km², mapped 2006. Vulnerability: Moderate; productivity Low; demand Moderate; quality concern (provincial): None. Wells on record: 19; water licences: 0. Underlies 212 mapped Denman lots.
The Province rates each mapped aquifer's intrinsic vulnerability — how easily surface contamination could reach the water — as Low, Moderate, or High. A High rating means relatively little natural protection between the surface and the water people draw from; it describes susceptibility, not current contamination.
Related private projects: abolishislandstrust.org · denmantown.org