WSA Dalmeny

Observation well WSA Dalmeny was constructed in 1966 to a depth of 26.52 metres in Floral Formation sand and gravel of the Dalmeny aquifer.  This aquifer is locally utilized for domestic water supplies and also provides the water supply for the town of Langham.  North of Dalmeny, water recharging the aquifer moves laterally northwest toward springs along the valley of the North Saskatchewan River. South of Dalmeny the water in the aquifer moves to discharge areas south of Highway 16 and west of Saskatoon. In this area water levels in wells are near or even above the ground surface and the groundwater flows upward to the soil surface where it evaporates or is used by vegetation, resulting in saline soils and sloughs.

Water levels in the Dalmeny Aquifer respond strongly to long term wet and dry periods and to the annual recharge and discharge cycle. Typically, seasonal minimums are reached in April-May and maximums occur in the August-December period.  Annual water level fluctuations are frequently greater than a metre and have exceeded two and half metres. The record low water level of just over 504 metres occurred in 2003, at the end of the 2001-2003 drought.  Since that time water levels have responded to several years of wet conditions, reaching a record high of just under 511 metres in 2013.

Water from WSA Dalmeny is of the bicarbonate/calcium-sulphate type with a Total Dissolved Solids concentration of approximately 2410 mg/L.