Non-profit water stewardship organization Living Lakes Canada (LLC) says that the hot, smoky and dry conditions experienced throughout the Columbia Basin over the past summer aren’t the only indicators of accelerated climate change, and that low groundwater levels have also shown a decrease in some aquifers from last year to now. Groundwater data is obtained from aquifers LLC monitors as part of their Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program. An aquifer is an underground layer of broken rock, gravel, sand or silt that contains groundwater.