WSA Garden Head

Observation well WSA Garden Head was constructed in 1966 to depth of 22.62 metres to observe natural groundwater level fluctuations in a shallow bedrock aquifer in the Shaunavon area.  It is completed in fine to medium-grained sand of the undifferentiated Frenchman, Battle, Whitemud, and Eastend Formations which are overlain by drift, mainly till.  The well is located in a shallow depressional area with the Cypress Hills to the west and rolling topography to the east. In the area of the well, till rest directly on the Eastend-Frenchman Formation, while to the east, erosional remnants of the younger Ravenscrag Formation occur.  The well is considered to be located beyond the cone of influence of the Town of Shaunavon’s water supply wells.  The general groundwater flow direction is towards Swift Current Creek.

The hydrograph for WSA Garden Head shows an increasing water level trend since monitoring began in 1966.  The rate of water level increase accelerated dramatically in 2010 and 2011, with increases of over a metre in 2010 and just under a metre in 2011.  In comparison, typical seasonal increases are half a metre or less.  As a result, a record high water level of 897.4 occurred in the spring of 2011.  Water levels have subsided somewhat, but remain very high.  The record low of about 892.5 metes occurred when monitoring began in 1966.  Typically, the well reaches its minimum level in the February-March period and its maximum in June. 

WSA Garden Head yields water of the sodium-bicarbonate type with a sum of ions concentration of about 1180 mg/L.