Dolostone bedrock aquifer capacity assessment for a municipal water supply in southwestern Ontario

Greg Padusenko, John Piersol, Colin Baker, Jonathan Munn, Beth Parker

In the proceedings of: GeoMontréal 2013: 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 11th joint with IAH-CNC

Session: Regional Aquifer Characterization III

ABSTRACT: The Township of Centre Wellington is located in Wellington County in southwestern Ontario. The Township owns and operates the Centre Wellington Drinking Water System which services the communities of Fergus and Elora. Centre Wellington is typical of many amalgamated rural municipalities in Ontario with a mix of agricultural activities and small urban centres. The Township relies solely on groundwater, pumped from nine operating wells completed in bedrock aquifers, for its potable water supply (serviced population of approximately 17,140). To understand the sustainable limits of its water resource relative to future demand projections, the Township has undertaken a hydrogeological investigation aimed at characterizing its underlying bedrock hydrostratigraphy on a local and regional scale. The purpose of the proposed investigation is to assess well field capacities in these small urban centres to determine water supply susceptibility to contamination and to develop source water protection strategies for existing and new water sources. The investigation has included the drilling of three cored bedrock holes, three rotary bedrock holes, downhole geophysical logging, flow profiling, FLUTe transmissivity profiling, high resolution active line source (ALS) temperature logging for discrete flow features and the installation of multi-level monitoring well nests in the vicinity of Fergus and Elora. Through on-going collection of data from these monitoring locations, a high-resolution spatial and temporal data set has been developed from which steady-state and transient groundwater response analyses could be undertaken. These analyses include comparisons of groundwater potentials in shallow and deep groundwater flow systems and groundwater level response to shut-down and pumping of municipal wells. The use of these methods to evaluate the hydraulic characteristics of the aquifer to provide better three-dimensional mapping of flow zones and hydrogeologic units including aquitards will assist the Township in implementing measures to protect its existing municipal groundwater supply and allow it to undertake exploration for new supplies with a higher level of confidence.

Please include this code when submitting a data update: GEO2013_658

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