Groundwater is a vitally important resource for sustaining communities, healthy ecosystems, and livelihoods. Despite its importance, limited harmonization of groundwater data in Canada restricts efforts to better understand groundwater flow systems, surface water-groundwater interactions, or how groundwater quality and quantity have changed over time. Monitoring of groundwater quality and quantity is a shared responsibility, currently carried out by a diverse array of organizations including government agencies, researchers, consultants, Indigenous governments and organizations, NGOs, and community groups. The subsurface data generated through these efforts and the associated aquifer and geologic characterization are essential for managing groundwater sustainably. Each stage of the water data lifecycle—collection, use, storage, management, sharing, and reuse—presents unique challenges and opportunities. Fragmented systems, inconsistent standards and formats, and limited accessibility can hinder the full potential of groundwater data to drive evidence-based decisions. This session will explore how leading-edge freshwater and geoscience data driven initiatives across Canada are working to strengthen groundwater management. Presentations, demos, and a panel discussion will explore collaborative approaches, innovative tools, and lessons learned in making groundwater data more usable and impactful.

• 10:30 am – 10:45 am | Informing Canada's Water Security: Update on the National Feshwater Data Strategy – Jim Young, Canada Water Agency
• 10:45 am – 11:00 am | Daylighting Groundwater Data: Advancing Open Data for Freshwater Stewardship with DataStream – Cynthia McClain
• 11:00 am – 11:15 am | Groundwater and Silver – a perfect match? – Steve Holysh
• 11:15 am – 11:30 am | Water Management in Guelph: Canada’s Most Groundwater-Dependent City – Reginald Somera
• 11:30 am – 11:45 am | Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition in Dense Urban Settings: Methodological Adaptations from a Metropolitan-Scale Project (Montreal, Canada) – Jonathan Chabot-Grégoire
• 11:45 am – 12:00 pm | Advances in Multi-Depth, Depth-Discrete Monitoring – John Cherry