1. Groundwater Monitoring in Ontario
Prepared by Sid Emami, Ph. D., P.Geo
November 5, 2014

2. WATER CYCLE

3. What is Groundwater?
Groundwater is the water contained within cracks, fractures of rocks and pore spaces of soil and sediment beneath the surface of the earth which act as giant sponges, and allows water to infiltrate and be collected underground.

4. Porosity and Permeability
Porosity is:
the percentage of the voids to the total volume of soil or rock.
Permeability is:
a characteristic that allows the water to flow through the rock.
Porosity is an index of how much groundwater can be stored in a rock unit.

6. Porosity and Permeability cont..d
High Porosity, High Permeability
High Porosity, Low Permeability
No porosity & permeability
Low porosity & permeability

7. Saturated & unsaturated zones

8. Snow is a major contributor to GW
Based in published reports, western snow packs have declined in recent decades:
Warmer winters are reducing the amount of snow in the mountains
Shrinking show packs and earlier snow melts mean that the drought is persistent in the area.
Snow is a major contributor to GW

9. Why Groundwater is important?

10. Canadian Population depending on GW

11. What is an Aquifer?
An aquifer is an underground layer of permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be extracted using a water well.
AQUIFER
AQUITARD

12. Movement of Groundwater

13. Source: M. Meriano, 1999
Source: M. Meriano, 1999

14. Type of Aquifers cont..d Unconfined Aquifers (bedrock, gravel & sand)
Saturated zone is in open contact with atmospheric pressure
Confined Aquifers (bedrock, gravel & sand)
Saturated zone is separated from atmospheric pressure by impermeable layers
Artesian Aquifers (saturated zone is under pressure)

15. Types of Aquifers

17. Oak Ridges Moraine
160 Km Length
1-15 Km Width
150m Depth

18. Ice Ages

20. 160Km x 13Km x 0.15 Km. DW of 250,000 people 65 Rivers
Oak Ridges Moraine
160Km x 13Km x 0.15 Km. DW of 250,000 people 65 Rivers

21. Pollution of Ground Water
pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers:
city dumps
heavy metals such as Hg, Pb, Cr, Cu, Cd
household chemicals and poisonsseptic tanks, sewage plants, and animal feedlots
acid mine drainage
radioactive waste
de-icing road salt

22. Sources of GW contamination

24. Laws protecting GW in Ontario
Several environmental laws exist to protect groundwater's in Ontario such as:
Safe Drinking Water Act
Ontario Water Resources Act 1990
Clean Water Act
Source Water Protection Act

25. Provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network

26. Background of GW monitoring
In 1946 Observation well monitoring was initiated by Ontario Department of Mines.
In 1977 the number of Observation wells were 80.
In 1981 MOE monitored Observation well stations.

27. Background of GW monitoring cont..d
In 1999 many parts of S. Ontario faced drought and low water conditions.
In 2000, GW monitoring was established by MOE along with 36 CA & 10 municipalities.

28. How PGMN Wells were selected?
Monitoring wells are selected based on the following criteria:
Wells with suitable construction for GW sampling
Wells tapping into the major aquifers
Wells with good yield and productivity
Wells located far from sources of contamination and
Wells far from municipal production well
GC = General Chemistry

29. Selected Major Aquifers in Ontario
Major Aquifers are identified and selected using:
MOE Water Well Records (Bedrock & OB >700,000 wells)
Available Hydrogeological reports
Existing wells permitted to be used by owners
Geology of Ontario and
Geographic Information System (GIS)
GC = General Chemistry

32. Why we monitor Groundwater?
To establish a base-line information in water level and chemistry
To properly manage groundwater resources
To forecast trends in water level/quality in future
To provide early warning in
drought condition due to climate change
changes in quality due to land use activities

33. Example of Drought Conditions Impacted Groundwater Levels

34. Drought
Condition
2001 is the drought year.
2001 Drought Condition

35. Declining Water Level due to pumping an irrigation well in Oregon USA

36. PGMN wells The total number of monitoring wells are 474 where:
474 wells are recorded in every hour for GW levels
360 wells are samples for water quality once per year
85 wells are recorded for precipitation data and
35 wells are recorded barometric pressure each hour
GC = General Chemistry

37. Distribution of PGMN (Groundwater) Monitoring Wells37

38. Water Level Monitoring Procedures
Water Level Meter
Manual Water Level Measurement

39. Data Loggers Levelogger & Barologger
Leveloader 1,390,000 LTC readings,
Levelogger & Barologger
> LTC readings

40. Rain Gauge
Solar Panel
Green Box
Control Box

41. Telemetry System

44. Sampling Groundwater for Chemical Analysis
Purging Criteria: 1) Purge > 3 well volume, 2) parameters Stabilization, 3) minimal or zero draw down 4) collect samples
Purging a Monitoring well with Rediflo-2 Pump

45. Monitoring Field Parameters followed by Groundwater Sampling

46. Post Sampling Procedures
Shipping samples to a Lab
Laboratory analysis
Compiling collected data
Assessment and interpretation of data
Writing reports

47. Shipping & Handling

48. Lab Analysis
General Chemistry, Metals, Volatile Organics, Pesticides, Phenolics

49. Compiling and interpreting data
Sample collection using a bailer

51. Summary Monitoring of GW
Constitutes a base line information on GW levels & chemistry
Helps to manage and plan water resources
Forecast the future trends of water levels and water quality
Provides early warning in drought conditions due to climate changes and large water takings
Provides warning on changes in water quality and its early remediation
Provides information of water resources conditions due to land use activities.

52. PGMN Website Demonstration
Nitrogen; nitrate+nitrite
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
PGMN Website Demonstration
Nitrogen; nitrate+nitrite

53. Thank You
Questions?