Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson

Advisors | Columbia Basin Water Hub and Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program


Richard is a Professional Engineer who works with people on hydro-geological-engineering projects. His work has included fluid flow through porous media, geology and reservoir modelling. Together with his wife and business partner Susan, they have taught water analysis interpretation to engineers and geologists for over 20 years. Richard also teaches an on-line course on how to analyze GIS data and make maps using the open-source QGIS software.

His specialty is water chemistry and what it tells about the history of the water. Using a finger printing system he has categorized oilfield brines by geological age in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan. He is now transferring that knowledge to fresh water systems, mapping aquifers and developing simple ways to test fresh water samples to detect surface contamination. He just completed a study of the geology and water quality of the Crescent Bay area, south of Nakusp, working with the residents collecting samples from over thirty water sources, analyzing them, mapping the aquifers, and helping people with water problems. He has mapped aquifers in the Slocan Valley and continues to update his knowledge of these aquifers using water well data, geology and morphology.

Richard graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor degree in Geological Engineering and his current interests, besides water, include remote sensing of the environment using satellite data and drone images, studying wildfire vegetation regrowth, and using machine learning and artificial intelligence in these studies. He works with Living Lakes supporting groundwater monitoring, and the Columbia Basin Water Hub, as well as being a Team member.