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Alberta Well Depth by County: Typical Depths and Aquifers
Typical completed well depth, static water level, and the predominant aquifer for 68 Alberta counties and municipal districts. Use it to sanity-check a listing or a drilling quote before you look at a specific parcel.
These are regional planning bands drawn from the pattern of Alberta well records in each belt and published aquifer mapping. They are not a survey of any parcel: two wells a mile apart can differ by 30 m where a buried valley cuts through bedrock. Treat the table as a filter, then pull nearby well records for the quarter you care about.
| County / MD | Typical completed depth | Static water level | Predominant aquifer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca County | 13 m | 3–6 m | Surficial sand and gravel aquifers, with Wapiti Formation sandstone to the west |
| Beaver County | 54 m | 10–16 m | Horseshoe Canyon and Bearpaw Formation bedrock with glacial sands |
| Big Lakes County | 33 m | 2–5 m | Surficial sand aquifers over Smoky Group shale |
| Birch Hills County | 75 m | 15–50 m | Wapiti Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| Brazeau County | 38 m | 2–7 m | Paskapoo Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| Camrose County | 43 m | 14–36 m | Horseshoe Canyon Formation sandstone bedrock |
| Cardston County | 39 m | 4–16 m | Belly River and St. Mary River Formation sandstone with foothills gravels |
| Clear Hills County | 45 m | 7–22 m | Dunvegan and Shaftesbury bedrock with surficial sands |
| Clearwater County | 26 m | 8–18 m | Paskapoo Formation sandstone and river-terrace gravels |
| County of Barrhead | 31 m | 7–12 m | Paskapoo Formation sandstone and buried-valley sands |
| County of Forty Mile | 100 m | 6–74 m | Milk River and Foremost Formation sandstone |
| County of Grande Prairie | 70 m | 9–16 m | Wapiti Formation sandstone and buried-valley sands |
| County of Minburn | 37 m | 4–9 m | Belly River Group sandstone and buried-channel sands |
| County of Newell | 18 m | 4–12 m | Foremost and Oldman Formation sandstone with buried-channel sands |
| County of Northern Lights | 45 m | 7–22 m | Dunvegan and Shaftesbury bedrock with surficial sands |
| County of Paintearth | 60 m | 10–30 m | Horseshoe Canyon and Bearpaw Formation bedrock |
| County of St. Paul | 86 m | 5–11 m | Belly River Group sandstone and buried-valley sands |
| County of Stettler | 16 m | 3–9 m | Horseshoe Canyon Formation sandstone and Scollard bedrock |
| County of Two Hills | 42 m | 7–18 m | Belly River Group sandstone and buried-valley sands |
| County of Vermilion River | 70 m | 8–39 m | Belly River Group sandstone (Ribstone Creek) and glacial sands |
| County of Warner | 60 m | 10–35 m | Milk River Formation sandstone |
| County of Wetaskiwin | 69 m | 12–31 m | Paskapoo Formation bedrock |
| Crowsnest Pass | 15 m | 4–22 m | Alluvial gravels and fractured mountain bedrock |
| Cypress County | 42 m | 3–7 m | Oldman and Foremost Formation sandstone with Milk River Formation at depth |
| Flagstaff County | 44 m | 28–36 m | Horseshoe Canyon and Bearpaw Formation bedrock |
| Foothills County | 33 m | 3–12 m | Paskapoo and Belly River bedrock |
| Kneehill County | 40 m | 8–23 m | Horseshoe Canyon and Scollard Formation sandstone |
| Lac La Biche County | 51 m | 6–19 m | Surficial sand and buried-channel aquifers over marine shale |
| Lac Ste. Anne County | 37 m | 5–16 m | Paskapoo Formation and surficial sands |
| Lacombe County | 31 m | 13–23 m | Paskapoo Formation sandstone bedrock |
| Lamont County | 27 m | 5–11 m | Horseshoe Canyon Formation sandstone and buried-valley sands |
| Leduc County | 25 m | 3–7 m | Paskapoo Formation bedrock |
| Lethbridge County | 93 m | 6–57 m | Oldman and Foremost Formation sandstone with the Lethbridge buried-valley aquifer |
| MD of Acadia | 30 m | 4–22 m | Bearpaw and Belly River bedrock |
| MD of Bighorn | 43 m | 6–16 m | Mountain alluvial gravels and fractured bedrock |
| MD of Bonnyville | 47 m | 11–18 m | Buried-channel sands over Lea Park shale, with Belly River sandstone to the south |
| MD of Fairview | 45 m | 7–20 m | Dunvegan Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| MD of Greenview | 50 m | 8–25 m | Wapiti Formation sandstone and surficial sand aquifers |
| MD of Lesser Slave River | 35 m | 4–15 m | Surficial sand and alluvial aquifers over marine shale |
| MD of Opportunity | 40 m | 6–20 m | Surficial sand aquifers over marine shale |
| MD of Peace | 19 m | 6–19 m | Dunvegan Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| MD of Pincher Creek | 131 m | 4–22 m | Belly River and St. Mary River Formation sandstone with alluvial gravels |
| MD of Provost | 66 m | 6–20 m | Belly River Group sandstone and Bearpaw Formation bedrock |
| MD of Ranchland | 24 m | 5–14 m | Foothills sandstone and alluvial gravels |
| MD of Smoky River | 50 m | 8–25 m | Wapiti Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| MD of Spirit River | 45 m | 7–22 m | Wapiti Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| MD of Taber | 12 m | 2–5 m | Foremost and Oldman Formation sandstone with buried-valley sands |
| MD of Wainwright | 81 m | 22–29 m | Belly River Group sandstone and Bearpaw shale |
| MD of Willow Creek | 31 m | 3–11 m | Willow Creek and Porcupine Hills Formation sandstone with Belly River bedrock |
| Mackenzie County | 40 m | 6–20 m | Surficial sand and alluvial aquifers with Shaftesbury and Dunvegan bedrock |
| Mountain View County | 33 m | 5–14 m | Paskapoo Formation bedrock |
| Northern Sunrise County | 28 m | 6–30 m | Dunvegan Formation sandstone and surficial sands |
| Parkland County | 28 m | 3–9 m | Paskapoo Formation bedrock |
| Ponoka County | 34 m | 13–28 m | Paskapoo Formation bedrock |
| Red Deer County | 33 m | 8–23 m | Paskapoo and Belly River bedrock |
| Rocky View County | 38 m | 9–29 m | Paskapoo and Belly River bedrock |
| Saddle Hills County | 50 m | 8–25 m | Wapiti and Dunvegan Formation sandstone with surficial sands |
| Smoky Lake County | 63 m | 8–52 m | Belly River Group sandstone and surficial sand aquifers |
| Special Areas (2, 3 and 4) | 29 m | 5–7 m | Bearpaw shale with Belly River and Horseshoe Canyon sandstone pockets |
| Starland County | 45 m | 14–26 m | Horseshoe Canyon Formation sandstone |
| Strathcona County | 36 m | 9–12 m | Buried-valley sands and Paskapoo bedrock |
| Sturgeon County | 19 m | 5–11 m | Paskapoo Formation and buried-valley sands |
| Thorhild County | 35 m | 5–16 m | Horseshoe Canyon Formation sandstone and buried-valley sands |
| Vulcan County | 29 m | 8–18 m | Belly River Group sandstone and Bearpaw Formation bedrock |
| Westlock County | 50 m | 5–33 m | Paskapoo Formation sandstone and glacial sand aquifers |
| Wheatland County | 36 m | 6–23 m | Horseshoe Canyon and Belly River bedrock |
| Woodlands County | 53 m | 18–45 m | Paskapoo and Wapiti Formation sandstone with river-terrace gravels |
| Yellowhead County | 43 m | 26–37 m | Paskapoo and Brazeau Formation sandstone with alluvial gravels |
How to use these numbers
- Depth drives the drilling line item. Quote on the county band plus a contingency, not on the shallowest well on the road.
- Static level sets pump depth and lift cost. A deep well with a high static level pumps cheaply.
- Aquifer hints at chemistry. Paskapoo and Belly River sandstones often run hard and iron-rich; Bearpaw and Lea Park shale country means thin, sodium-rich water or hauled supply.
Related: what drilling a well costs in Alberta, Alberta aquifer maps explained, and how to look up well records.