WET 201 - Groundwater Information Network

The water that circulates in our world today – through the air, the land, and our bodies – has been here for billions of years. Water is unique in that it can dissolve and carry within it more substances than any other liquid. Wherever water travels it picks up and transports chemicals, minerals and nutrients. This is how healthy waters help sustain all life on Earth. Alongside local, place-based, and Traditional/Indigenous knowledge, this information can support decision-making and action to help protect our waters, so they remain healthy for generations to come.

Groundwater is a vitally important resource, one that is often overlooked in freshwater management. Despite its importance, in Canada we know relatively little about how groundwater behaves, its quality, or how the quality and quantity have changed over time.

Datastream Tools and Resources

DataStream (DataStream.org) is an online open-access platform for sharing water quality and sediment quality data. Data is uploaded, stored and shared in DataStream’s Open Data Schema -- a model based on the WQX standard for the Exchange of Water Quality Data. DataStream is free to use and allows users to query, visualize, and download data in this standardized format. Water monitoring groups across Canada — including communities, researchers, Indigenous nations and governments at all levels — are using DataStream to publish their data.