Water Supply & Source water protection

Reliable groundwater supplies are fundamental to the long-term sustainability of municipal, industrial, commercial, Indigenous, and private water systems. Our hydrogeologists combine field investigations with advanced numerical groundwater modelling to evaluate aquifer performance, characterize groundwater flow systems, and provide technically defensible recommendations for water supply development and management.

We design and supervise field investigations that provide the information needed to assess sustainable well yields, identify potential hydraulic interference, evaluate groundwater quality, and support the design of municipal, industrial, and community water supply systems. Our experience spans individual supply wells, municipal wellfields, and large-scale groundwater investigations in complex geological settings.

Geofirma routinely completes hydraulic testing of aquifers using a variety of pumping and pressure / flow monitoring equipment to obtain data allowing robust well test analysis. This includes step tests and longer duration (6-hour to 72-hour) pumping tests to evaluate aquifer properties and influence from nearby wells / boundary conditions.

Geofirma has been a leader in developing municipal Source Water Protection (SWP) guidance within Ontario since the inaugural SWP initiative in 2002. Key Geofirma staff have provided technical hydrogeology expertise and peer review services to over 20 conservation authority Source Protection studies in eastern and northern Ontario.

We have extensive experience applying numerical groundwater flow modelling to support wellhead protection area (WHPA) delineation, capture zone analysis, assessments of groundwater vulnerability, the identification and evaluation of significant drinking water threats, and groundwater resource management in accordance with provincial regulatory frameworks.