Development of stewardship and drinking water quality indicators towards private well water safety in Saskatchewan. Santos, A. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 2026. ![Development of stewardship and drinking water quality indicators towards private well water safety in Saskatchewan [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper abstract bibtex Private domestic wells (PDW) are an important source of drinking water in Saskatchewan, especially in sparsely populated areas where the connection to municipal water systems is less viable. Given the lack of regulation of these wells, the well user becomes responsible for safeguarding their supply and the maintenance of their water systems which will be informed by their individual stewardship practices. A water quality (WQ) indicator was developed with the use of a provincial database with 4,819 groundwater testing results, with the application of a principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and identify sub-domains. The PCA grouped the parameters in five groups: hardness, salinity, heavy metals (health), heavy metals (aesthetic) and land-use contaminants. In addition, to analyze the WQ risks facing PDW users in Saskatchewan, a mixed methods approach was used to quantify the water safety in PDW, resulting in the development of a water safety indicator utilizing the results of a survey realized in Saskatchewan in 2024. These indicators were grouped in a composite called the well water safety index, which was applied to the case-study in southern Saskatchewan, allowing for the quantification of user stewardship and WQ in a single index. The WQ indicators showed an overall adequacy of the water for drinking and livestock watering, with aesthetic parameters exceeding the guidelines more often than the health-related variables. Furthermore, a discrepancy was noticed between the water safety perceived by the well users and the actual WQ encountered in their wells in addition to a heavy reliance on sensorial detection (i.e., appearance, taste, smell) for the judgment of water safety, while neglecting the possibility of the presence of invisible yet dangerous contaminants in their water supply. In conclusion, the indicators developed in this study showed promise in their practical application for groundwater management of PDW in Saskatchewan. The indicators could be further employed by developing a system available to private well users where they could input their individual data (regarding stewardship practices and their WQ results) and receive immediate feedback and links to resources tailored to their specific needs and identified areas for improvement, ultimately aiding the groundwater management in the province.
@phdthesis{santos_development_2026,
address = {Saskatoon},
type = {Master of {Science}},
title = {Development of stewardship and drinking water quality indicators towards private well water safety in {Saskatchewan}},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10388/18091},
abstract = {Private domestic wells (PDW) are an important source of drinking water in Saskatchewan, especially in sparsely populated areas where the connection to municipal water systems is less viable. Given the lack of regulation of these wells, the well user becomes responsible for safeguarding their supply and the maintenance of their water systems which will be informed by their individual stewardship practices. A water quality (WQ) indicator was developed with the use of a provincial database with 4,819 groundwater testing results, with the application of a principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and identify sub-domains. The PCA grouped the parameters in five groups: hardness, salinity, heavy metals (health), heavy metals (aesthetic) and land-use contaminants. In addition, to analyze the WQ risks facing PDW users in Saskatchewan, a mixed methods approach was used to quantify the water safety in PDW, resulting in the development of a water safety indicator utilizing the results of a survey realized in Saskatchewan in 2024. These indicators were grouped in a composite called the well water safety index, which was applied to the case-study in southern Saskatchewan, allowing for the quantification of user stewardship and WQ in a single index. The WQ indicators showed an overall adequacy of the water for drinking and livestock watering, with aesthetic parameters exceeding the guidelines more often than the health-related variables. Furthermore, a discrepancy was noticed between the water safety perceived by the well users and the actual WQ encountered in their wells in addition to a heavy reliance on sensorial detection (i.e., appearance, taste, smell) for the judgment of water safety, while neglecting the possibility of the presence of invisible yet dangerous contaminants in their water supply. In conclusion, the indicators developed in this study showed promise in their practical application for groundwater management of PDW in Saskatchewan. The indicators could be further employed by developing a system available to private well users where they could input their individual data (regarding stewardship practices and their WQ results) and receive immediate feedback and links to resources tailored to their specific needs and identified areas for improvement, ultimately aiding the groundwater management in the province.},
language = {English},
urldate = {2026-06-01},
school = {University of Saskatchewan},
author = {Santos, Allana},
year = {2026},
}
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A water quality (WQ) indicator was developed with the use of a provincial database with 4,819 groundwater testing results, with the application of a principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and identify sub-domains. The PCA grouped the parameters in five groups: hardness, salinity, heavy metals (health), heavy metals (aesthetic) and land-use contaminants. In addition, to analyze the WQ risks facing PDW users in Saskatchewan, a mixed methods approach was used to quantify the water safety in PDW, resulting in the development of a water safety indicator utilizing the results of a survey realized in Saskatchewan in 2024. These indicators were grouped in a composite called the well water safety index, which was applied to the case-study in southern Saskatchewan, allowing for the quantification of user stewardship and WQ in a single index. The WQ indicators showed an overall adequacy of the water for drinking and livestock watering, with aesthetic parameters exceeding the guidelines more often than the health-related variables. Furthermore, a discrepancy was noticed between the water safety perceived by the well users and the actual WQ encountered in their wells in addition to a heavy reliance on sensorial detection (i.e., appearance, taste, smell) for the judgment of water safety, while neglecting the possibility of the presence of invisible yet dangerous contaminants in their water supply. In conclusion, the indicators developed in this study showed promise in their practical application for groundwater management of PDW in Saskatchewan. The indicators could be further employed by developing a system available to private well users where they could input their individual data (regarding stewardship practices and their WQ results) and receive immediate feedback and links to resources tailored to their specific needs and identified areas for improvement, ultimately aiding the groundwater management in the province.","language":"English","urldate":"2026-06-01","school":"University of Saskatchewan","author":[{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Santos"],"firstnames":["Allana"],"suffixes":[]}],"year":"2026","bibtex":"@phdthesis{santos_development_2026,\n\taddress = {Saskatoon},\n\ttype = {Master of {Science}},\n\ttitle = {Development of stewardship and drinking water quality indicators towards private well water safety in {Saskatchewan}},\n\turl = {https://hdl.handle.net/10388/18091},\n\tabstract = {Private domestic wells (PDW) are an important source of drinking water in Saskatchewan, especially in sparsely populated areas where the connection to municipal water systems is less viable. Given the lack of regulation of these wells, the well user becomes responsible for safeguarding their supply and the maintenance of their water systems which will be informed by their individual stewardship practices. A water quality (WQ) indicator was developed with the use of a provincial database with 4,819 groundwater testing results, with the application of a principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and identify sub-domains. The PCA grouped the parameters in five groups: hardness, salinity, heavy metals (health), heavy metals (aesthetic) and land-use contaminants. In addition, to analyze the WQ risks facing PDW users in Saskatchewan, a mixed methods approach was used to quantify the water safety in PDW, resulting in the development of a water safety indicator utilizing the results of a survey realized in Saskatchewan in 2024. These indicators were grouped in a composite called the well water safety index, which was applied to the case-study in southern Saskatchewan, allowing for the quantification of user stewardship and WQ in a single index. The WQ indicators showed an overall adequacy of the water for drinking and livestock watering, with aesthetic parameters exceeding the guidelines more often than the health-related variables. Furthermore, a discrepancy was noticed between the water safety perceived by the well users and the actual WQ encountered in their wells in addition to a heavy reliance on sensorial detection (i.e., appearance, taste, smell) for the judgment of water safety, while neglecting the possibility of the presence of invisible yet dangerous contaminants in their water supply. In conclusion, the indicators developed in this study showed promise in their practical application for groundwater management of PDW in Saskatchewan. 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