Better Understand and Manage Yukon’s Groundwater

The vast majority of Earth’s freshwater supplies are stored as ice or groundwater. As the primary source of drinking water for residents of Yukon and an integral component of surface water systems, this hidden resource is essential to both aquatic and terrestrial life (visit the Groundwater and Aquifers page for further details). Yukon government (YG) recognizes the immense value of Yukon’s groundwater resources and is taking immediate actions that will continuously improve our understanding and management of them.How is Yukon government improving our understanding and management of Yukon’s groundwater?

YG continues to periodically update the Yukon Water Well Registry, which is a publicly accessible groundwater database containing construction details and groundwater level information from water wells across the Yukon (visit the Groundwater Information Network for further details). YG has also expanded the Yukon-Wide Long-Term Groundwater Monitoring Network, which now includes new monitoring wells located across the Yukon. The monitoring wells for this network have been selected strategically to support baseline studies in areas under pressure, such as those that may potentially be affected by climate change and/or anticipated developments.

Through the Yukon Water Strategy and Action Plan, YG has committed to a number of actions to improve its understanding and management of groundwater in the Yukon, which fall under the following two broad areas of work:

• The enhancement and formalization of the existing groundwater program in the Yukon; and
• The development of a regulatory framework to manage groundwater.

One action YG is currently taking to fulfill its commitments under the Yukon Water Strategy and Action Plan is the hiring of a hydrogeologist in order to expand and apply its hydrogeological expertise. By acquiring hydrogeological expertise, YG will be well-positioned to take actions such as enhancing the centralized groundwater database and expanding the existing groundwater network by establishing new wells, collecting additional baseline data, and mapping groundwater sources. See the  Yukon Water Strategy and Action Plan  (English / Français – PDF 5.7 MB) to learn more about the actions YG is taking in these two areas.