[All] Symposium at Western University re:Water & Site 41

Robert Milligan mill at continuum.org
Mon Sep 20 12:20:35 EDT 2010


Great detailed work Lulu.

On 14-Sep-10, at 11:55 PM, Louisette Lanteigne wrote:

> Hi folks
>
> Here are the minutes regarding Day 2 of the Site 41 Symposium at the  
> University of Western Ontario.
>
> Terry Carter, MNR London, Geologist
>
> -Vertical fractures tend to show up at levels of 1-3 meters. Water  
> can also get into the ground by way of vugular porosity, fossil  
> porosity and sandstone.
> -Shales are aquitards "for the most part".
> -Clay aquitards are impervious
> -Acid rain dissolves limestone so weathering affects rocks.
> - Aquicludes are salt layer that stop water by dissolving water and  
> water resources found under that, under Guelph Cambrian levels are  
> salty
> -Sulfur water can corrode casings.
> - most of the mapping is based on subsurface oil, gas and water well  
> data and data gathered by the Ontario Geological Survey.
>
> Q&A : I told him Clay aquitards allow water through but at a slower  
> rate. It's not 100% impervious. Our leaky landfills in Waterloo  
> prove that theory.  I also stated just because an area is covered in  
> clay, it may still act as a recharge transferring water from point A  
> to B depending on the topography and adjacent water features. I  
> pointed out an example of an area on the the Chapman and Putman map  
> he was using where an area identified as recharge was clearly  
> surrounded with areas marked clay. He agreed more information on  
> connectivity issues would be beneficial.
>
> Someone mentioned concerns regarding Lockport Dolomite close to  
> where Nestle is taking water from Aberfoyle and it was mentioned  
> that fluorite and (..I'm not sure if it was gadolinium or gallium)  
> is also an issue around there.
> _____________________________________________________-
>
> Legacy of Glaciation for Groundwater Resource Management: Emmanuel  
> Arnaud U of Guelph Glacial Geology.
>
> -Laurentide Ice sheet covered most of our area 20,000 years ago to a  
> depth of 1km thick ice. (for great glacial photos, look up Peter  
> Knight)
> -Eskers are snake like winding areas of raised land created by  
> glaciers.
> -Drumlins are hill like features
> -Moraines have hummoky topography aka rolling hilly area.
>
> Deposits are composed of:
> Sand and gravel: small,
> Silt and Clay: bigger
> Diamict/Till: Combination of mixed sediment types
>
> We get our water from Glacial deposits or bedrock aquifers.
>
> Lobes are created from the high water tables that used to exist  
> overtop the land mass. As the water retreated into various lakes,  
> the evidence of their volume and the retreat can still be seen in  
> land features and glacial deposits. In our area and the area of Site  
> 41 we have Georgial Bay Lobe, Simcoe Lobe, Ontario Lobe, Huron Lobe  
> and Erie Lobe.
> A community influenced by one lobe has a far more "predictable" and  
> relatively consistent layout of sediment types but ...
> * Waterloo is located in the JUNCTION of multiple lobes giving us  
> the geological composition of a dog's breakfast. Everything is  
> everywhere. It's unpredictable and complex. Hard to predict.  
> Waterloo falls in the path of former water volumes connected to   
> Lake Ontario, Simcoe and Georgian Bay.
>
> It is tricky to "date" lobes because it requires organic materials.  
> Kettle ponds can help with this.
>
> Handy maps include Chapman and Putnams Physiography of Ontario Map  
> and Nike Eyles map of Glacial Lakes.
>
> Site 41 is in the Elmvale area, which includes Simcoe Lowlands and  
> uplands. The area has evidence of "relic shorelines".  The data  
> shows that from 13,000 the ice retreated and came back twice before  
> the final retreat in 11,000.
>
> The Simcoe upland contains coarse grain, permeable material and the  
> Simcoe lowlands contain silt, clay fine grain believed to be  
> impervious with water found at 10-15 meters. They are only using  
> bore holes to determine the current data, with depths going to 27-28  
> meters based on tests taken in 1997 in the month of January. That is  
> the data used by Jagger Hims Ltd., the company that was doing the  
> EIS for Site 41.
>
> It was Q & A so that point I questioned the theory of the impervious  
> surfaces in the lowlands and explained how outwash till can appear  
> impervious due to a shingling distribution with gaps of recharge in  
> between formed by washes as the glaciers melt.  Bore holes won't  
> catch that because the plugs look as if the area is level.  I told  
> them unless they do a Ground Penetrating Radar approach, the area  
> may actually be prime recharge. She agreed more data is needed and  
> she didn't know if any GPR studies have been done here or not. She  
> has not seen such data to date. I also told her seasonal varients  
> must also be considered for bore hole testing and she agreed that  
> would be valuable to determine water levels but with her work the  
> focus is on the sediment itself. She stated, "We need greater  
> control of the age of the deposit and we need to determine geometry  
> and connectivity to aquifers."
> ______________________________________
>
> William Shotyk, Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Heidelberg
> Re: Artisian Flows in tiny township
>
> Trivia: Tiny, Tay and Flos Township were actually named by Lord John  
> Graves Simcoe's wife's dogs.
>
> In the area of Site 41, there are a series of artisian wells that  
> begins with the one across the street from Site 41 called the  
> Parnell, folllowed by the Pigeon, the Johnson, Temolder, Belluz and  
> one by Hwy 27. Initial testing conducted by Mr. Shotyk was to get a  
> chemical test of the water before the work on Site 41.
>
> He conducted multiple studies on the well by Hwy. 27 and found no  
> Tritium. The results were 10 to the minus 18. Since his parents have  
> owned the Johnson artisian well, he set up two test wells, one out  
> of surgical stainless steal and the other out of polyethelyne, both  
> fully sanitized in Germany with acid. Hydraulic connectivity was 10  
> to the minus 8 at the clay layer in his 13m well. There was no trace  
> of nitrate, phosphate or tritium in 20 years worth of data. The  
> composition of this water actually had less chemical contaminates  
> then the purest core samples of glaciers. The ph balance is 8.
>
> Other artisian wells in the network have tritium levels. Temolder at  
> a depth of 9.1 m had 1.1 tritium, Parnell at a depth of 9m and the  
> Pidgon well at a depth of 30m also had tritium but at various  
> levels, not the same. This indicates that there are at least four  
> different aquifers in the area.
>
> In the month of March artisian water wells up on Site 41.
>
> An area land owner in Tiny Township tried to dig a well in the area  
> and the water pressure shot up water 70 feet. Water companies in the  
> area didn't know what to do to stop it. It eroded the foundation of  
> his home to the point the house was condemned. Finally Canadian Well  
> Drilling came in and helped stop the flooding.
>
> Tiny Township officials released a statement that "not all the wells  
> are fit for consumption" but in truth it was not due to toxicity  
> issues. It was due to high iron from the calcium carbonate that  
> surpassed levels of aesthetics for taste.
>
> Water samples from the Johnson wells were sent to be tested for  
> trace metals and isotopic analysis at the University of Heidelberg  
> in a metal free, *clean lab with less than 10 particles per cubic  
> square foot of air. The sensitivity of the study is so fine it can  
> detect the lead particulates generated from the smelting of iron  
> during the Roman era.
>
> *In Canada, Trent University can conduct similar testing. Peter  
> Dillion is the guy to contact.
>
> The data shows variances in the types of well fawcet used. If the  
> water came from a brass tap, it ads lead. If the tap is switched to  
> stainless steal, it contains 1000pm of lead and contains zinc, and  
> Cadmium. The polyethelyne has no lead but it does contain vanadium  
> at double the level of stainless steal. This is because metals are  
> added to the plastic to change density.
>
> The results showed remarkably pure water. So pure that the cleanest  
> filter would not be able to filter the water without contaminating it.
>
> Mr. Shotyk went to observe water testing at Site 41, how the studies  
> were conducted. Instead of using an artisian well,  they manually  
> pumped out water mixed with sediment, filtered it and tested it. The  
> readings found 300 parts per billion of aluminum whereas it  
> conflicted with his data of 3ppb taken across the street at the  
> artisian well.  There was 1000 ppb of Vanadium and the chrome was  
> over 800ug/l. There was copper and lead and the reason for the  
> difference was the contamination of colloids and does not reflect  
> the actual water composition.
>
> The testing conducted by the MOE do not use filters designed to  
> determine anything except what exceeds drinking water standards and  
> the system is laced with cross contamination concerns. All the  
> studies conducted by the ministries showed trace metals higher than  
> the 20 years of data gathered. The standards of polar ice detection  
> shows more accurate information.
>
> The Parnell artisan well has flow 30 years old but the natural  
> purification level is exceptional at 99.99%. Snow studies and water  
> studies reveal how well the water filters contaminates. It filters  
> out nitrates, phosphates, pesticides including Atrazine etc.
>
> Elmvale's Tap water is contaminated by Trichloroethane,  
> Bromodichloromethane and Dibromochloro. The groundwater is much  
> cleaner.
> _________________________________
>
> Civil Engineer, Canada Research Chair in Geoenvironmental  
> Restoration Engineering
> Jason Gerhard.
>
> -30.9% of Canada's water supply is groundwater
> -90% of gas stations leak due to corrosion
> -In China there are areas where people fill up their cars with well  
> water because it's so full of diesel.
> -People used to discharge contaminates away from their communities  
> on dry dirt because it was believed that chemicals evaporate. Only  
> 5% did, the other 95% went to bedrock which contaminates groundwater.
> -In Quebec, quarries were used as waste disposal sites until two  
> miles away, someone filled their tub with black goo from the damaged  
> water supply along the bedrock.
> -Today's risks include: Organic and inorganic chemicals, endocrine  
> disrupters, nano particles and flame retardants
> -Chlorinated solvents are frequently seen in Ontario. Many areas  
> exceed levels 100 times the MOE limit.
> -For every dollar spent on restoration, it adds $4 of economic  
> benefit to the economy.
> -It has the potential to gain $7 billion in net benefit as well as  
> health benefits and improved community sustainability.
>
> Dig in the dump is only an in situ remedy. It doesn't do anything to  
> actually stop the problem.
>
> Chromium 3: Found in nature, it's a trace nutrient that people need.
> Chromium 6: Liver damage, internal hemorrhage, cancer.
> Ontario water quality level: 1ppb.
>
> Phytoremediation can help. (plants/ constructed wetlands)
> It bio-accumulates in plants or degrades contaminates in soil by  
> extraction, stabilization (you can recover metals) Volatilization,  
> Transformation and Degradation.
>
> TCE - Good movie, "A Civil Action" with John Travolta
> -TCE is a metal cleaner also used in computer manufacturing and  
> electronics
> -in situ bioremediation with bacteria that "eats" solvents.
> The bacteria eats the chloride and converts the  TCE to  
> Dichloroethene, then it continues to eat converting that to Vinal  
> Chloride than finally it is reduced to Ethene. This work has been  
> proven successful in 160 tests across 4 labs.
>
> The bacteria remains within 3m of the injection site, it clings on  
> to the sediment where it stays and passively consumes the  
> contaminates. When the food supply is gone it dies off. If the ph is  
> below 5 1/2, the bugs tend to shut down. They don't like acidic  
> environments that much.
>
> Q & A: When I mentioned the Vinal Chloride leaking from the Waterloo  
> landfill, he stated it would work very well in this situation. The  
> risk of the process is that Vinal Chloride is the most toxic of the  
> chemical transitions so if your already starting the process with  
> that chemical you have nothing to lose and the end results come  
> quickly. There is a VERY high chance of success.
>
> Steven Renzetti: The economics of water
>
> The number of Canadian Economists looking at the issue of water is  
> very low but it must be done because we can't avoid it. It has many  
> applications and we can't formulate a cost benefit analysis without  
> it. In order to make allocation decisions and to form meaningful  
> source water protection we need this information.
>
> Currently, if all the water permits in Saskatchewan were in full  
> use, it would surpass the actual renewable supply which would  
> violate agreements along the Saskatchewan/Alberta boarder and that  
> would violate agreements.
>
> We must understand private and public benefits. We must understand  
> uses for personal use, non use and passive use values, (knowing it's  
> there and available) as well as existence values aka preventing  
> destruction of the resource.  The total economic value or TEV is the  
> combination of all these considerations.
>
> Direct methods: Ask households about their use, Contingent valuation  
> aka lawuits and choice experiments - would you be willing to pay this?
>
> When the Gulf oil spill hit, lawyers were calling Economists to put  
> a value on the losses.
>
> Current Canadian Estimates lack peer reviewed snapshots, are  
> specific to location, use and method but they need to follow tables  
> to summerize what we know and don't know.
>
> Currently water is selling for less than $1 per cubic metre.  Only  
> 70% of water costs are actually covered by municipal water fees.  
> We're using more but paying less for it. The value is half what it  
> used to be and agricultural water takings are not measured.
>
> Council of Canadian Ministers of Environment Municipal Wastewater  
> Effluent National Strategy did a study in Newfoundland that found it  
> would cost $504 million to convert to a better system but the  
> benefits would be worth $708 creating a net benefit of $204 million  
> over 25 years.
>
> The PDF's of the day will be provided to those who attended the  
> event so if anyone is interested in viewing this just drop me an  
> email I'd be happy to share the info once it becomes available.
>
> That's all folks
>
> Lulu :0)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> All mailing list
> All at gren.ca
> http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/all_gren.ca

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