The Water Resources Management Division maintains a list of Public Water Supplies in the Province.  A GIS dataset depicting the geographic boundaries of these supplies is available for download from the NL Water Resources GeoHub: https://nl-water-resources-geohub-gnl.hub.arcgis.com/

The supplies are indexed using a unique Water Supply number (e.g. WS-S-0000) that links the supplies to other databases in the Division. A supply can be either Surface water (SW) or Groundwater (GW) based and are further broken down into the following four categories:

• Protected – these are supplies protected under Sections 39(1) or 61(1) of The Water Resources Act, SNL 2002 cW-4.01. The protection of these supplies is approved by various agencies through the Inter-Departmental Land Use Committee (ILUC) and published in the Newfoundland Gazette. Under the Act the Department may restrict activities in the protected area that have an adverse affect on water quality. The legal boundary of a Surfacewater protected supply is usually depicted by straight lines and the GIS layer may also show areas of natural drainage to the supply that are outside the protected legal boundary. The legal boundary of a Groundwater protected supply can be either a circle centered on the wellhead or a polygon which has been delineated by a hydrogeological study.
• Unprotected – these supplies are used as a public water supply source but have not been declared as protected under the Act. The boundary of these supplies is typically the entire natural drainage of the supply.
• Potential – these supplies are not actively being used as public water supplies but may be used as such in the future. The boundary of these supplies is typically the entire natural drainage of the supply.
• ILUC – these are supplies that are currently moving through the ILUC process described above with the goal of protection under Sections 39(1) or 61(1) of The Water Resources Act, SNL 2002 cW-4.01. This is a “red-line” layer that is subject to change and provided as a convenience to approving agencies for the purpose of review.

The boundaries and other features are believed to be accurate but due to various factors the Department cannot give an exact level of spatial accuracy or resolution. In case of any land use dispute or legal issues the Department recommends a site-specific survey by a professional surveyor. Users should contact the Water Resources Management Division if an exact boundary location is required.

While the Department has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this GIS data layer the official record remains the files maintained by the Department including the material published in the Newfoundland Gazette.