• Supply
• Protection
• Remediation
• Modelling
• Monitoring

Groundwater Protection

TerrAtlantic has conducted a number of wellfield protection studies in Atlantic Canada, and has taken site-specific steps to ensure that municipal and industrial wellfields are protected from the nearby releases of contaminants.

TerrAtlantic provided assistance to NBENV in the generation of what became the document New Brunswick Application of RBCA in Municipal Wellfields and Watersheds, December 2004.

Typical Projects:

• Wellfield development and aquifer protection for the City of Fredericton, NB.
• Wellfield protection study for the Town of Rothesay, NB.
• Wellfield protection study for the Kingsclear First Nation, NB.
• Wellfield protection study for the City of Edmundston, NB.

Important groundwater aquifers should be protected from contamination because the costs of failing to do so may be extreme. Aquifer protection planning is a key component of the water supply process.

TerrAtlantic's staff have been involved with aquifer protection since the early 1980's. Groundwater protection studies require a thorough assessment of the hydrogeologic regime and the land uses prevailing within the area contributing recharge to the aquifer.

Protected areas of varying levels of sensitivity or vulnerability are then identified, often using hydrogeologic modelling techniques. Numerical models utilized by TerrAtlantic's hydrogeological staff include MODFLOW and the adjunct MODPATH. Groundwater travel times from potential sources to individual production wells are calculated, although other, non-technical factors may also be involved. Within each protected area, chemical controls may be applied, generally in the form of restrictions of the quantities of certain chemicals permitted.

In the case of chlorinated hydrocarbons (for example as used in the dry cleaning industry), the permissible quantity may be zero; these chemicals are particularly hazardous to the groundwater supply if inadvertently released.

The process whereby an aquifer protection plan is introduced and implemented is a delicate one, requiring sensitivity to the competing interests of property owners and wellfield managers. Issues such as compensation, grand-fathering and timing, if addressed carefully, can ensure long-term aquifer protection at reasonable cost to the community.

TerrAtlantic personnel have been closely involved with all aspects of the aquifer protection process and are well placed to assist municipalities in the development of such plans.