Paris / Galt Moraine Study
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Review of the State of Knowledge for the Waterloo and Paris/Galt Moraines February 2009 Prepared for: Land and Water Policy Branch Ministry of the Environment Prepared by: Blackport Hydrogeology Inc. Blackport and Associates Ltd. AquaResource Inc. Ms. Barbara Anderson Land and Water Policy Branch 6th Floor, 135 St Clair Ave West, Toronto, ON M4V1P5 February 27, 2009 Re: Review of the State of Knowledge for the Waterloo and Paris/ Galt Moraines Report Dear Ms. Anderson, The Team of Blackport Hydrogeology Inc., Blackport and Associates Ltd., and AquaResource Inc. are pleased to submit a final version of the Review of the State of Knowledge for the Waterloo and Paris/ Galt Moraines report. On behalf of the project team, we appreciate the opportunity to work with you on this challenging and interesting project. Should you have any questions or comments on the content of this report, please feel free to contact me at your convenience. Sincerely, BLACKPORT HYDROGEOLOGY INC. Ray Blackport, P. Geo. President REVIEW OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE WATERLOO AND PARIS/ GALT MORAINES Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................. 1 1.3 STUDY AREAS ........................................................................................................... 2 1.3.1 Waterloo Moraine 3 1.3.2 Paris and Galt Moraines 3 1.4 SCOPE OF WORK & METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 3 2.0 HYDROGEOLOGIC CONCEPTS ................................................................................ 5 2.1 HYDROLOGIC CYCLE ................................................................................................ 5 2.2 GROUNDWATER FLOW ............................................................................................. 5 2.2.1 Groundwater Recharge/ Discharge 6 2.2.2 Groundwater Flow and Scale 6 2.2.3 Water-Related Ecological Functions 7 2.3 WATER BUDGETS AND GROUNDWATER STORAGE ............................................ 7 3.0 OVERVIEW OF WATERLOO AND PARIS/ GALT MORAINES ................................. 9 3.1 GEOLOGY OF MORAINES ......................................................................................... 9 3.2 FUNCTION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF MORAINES ................................................... 10 3.3 OVERVIEW OF THE WATERLOO MORAINE .......................................................... 13 3.3.1 General Physical Setting 13 3.3.2 Investigations of the Waterloo Moraine 14 3.4 OVERVEW OF THE PARIS/ GALT MORAINES ....................................................... 23 3.4.1 General Physical Setting 23 3.4.2 Investigations of the Paris/ Galt Moraines 24 4.0 OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL WATER-RELATED ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH LAND USE ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................................... 26 4.1 URBAN DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................... 26 4.1.1 Water Quantity 26 4.1.2 Water Quality 27 4.1.3 Existing Best Management Practices 28 4.2 INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................. 30 4.2.1 Water Quantity 30 4.2.2 Water Quality 30 4.2.3 Existing BMPs 31 4.3 AGRICULTURE ......................................................................................................... 32 4.3.1 Water Quantity 32 February 2009 FINAL REPORT REVIEW OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE WATERLOO AND PARIS/ GALT MORAINES 4.3.2 Water Quality 33 4.3.3 Existing BMPs 34 4.4 AGGREGATE EXTRACTION .................................................................................... 35 4.4.1 Water Quantity 35 4.4.2 Water Quality 37 4.4.3 Existing BMPs 38 4.4.4 Cumulative Effects Assessment 39 4.5 POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ....................................................... 40 5.0 CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE WATERLOO MORAINE ........................... 43 5.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................... 43 5.2 WATERLOO MORAINE BOUNDARY ....................................................................... 43 5.3 GEOLOGY AND HYDROSTRATIGRAPHY .............................................................. 45 5.4 SIGNIFICANT AQUIFERS ......................................................................................... 47 5.5 SIGNIFICANCE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE WATERLOO MORAINE ..................... 48 5.5.1 Recharge 48 5.5.2 Water Supply 48 5.5.3 Maintenance of Water-Related Ecological Features 49 5.6 WATER QUANTITY/ WATER BUDGET .................................................................... 50 5.7 WATER QUALITY...................................................................................................... 53 5.8 SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL SOURCE PROTECTION STUDIES ............................ 54 6.0 CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARIS/ GALT MORAINES ...................... 55 6.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................... 55 6.2 GEOLOGY AND HYDROSTRATIGRAPHY .............................................................. 55 6.2.1 Paris/ Galt Moraine Boundary 55 6.2.2 Geology and Hydrostratigraphy 56 6.3 SIGNIFICANT AQUIFERS ......................................................................................... 58 6.4 SIGNIFICANCE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PARIS/ GALT MORAINES ................. 59 6.4.1 Recharge 59 6.4.2 Water Supply 59 6.4.3 Maintenance of Water-Related Ecological Features 60 6.5 WATER QUANTITY/ WATER BUDGET .................................................................... 61 6.6 WATER QUALITY...................................................................................................... 62 6.7 SUMMARY OF TECHNICAL SOURCE PROTECTION STUDIES ............................ 62 6.7.1 GRCA Tier 2 Water Budget 62 6.7.2 Long Point Region, Kettle Creek and Catfish Creek Tier 2 Water Budget63 6.7.3 CVC Tier 2 Water Budget 63 6.7.4 Conservation Halton/ City of Hamilton Tier 2 Water Budget 64 6.7.5 Region of Waterloo Tier 3 Water Budget 64 February 2009 FINAL REPORT ii REVIEW OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE WATERLOO AND PARIS/ GALT MORAINES 6.7.6 City of Guelph Tier 3 Water Budget Assessment 65 6.7.7 Region of Halton Tier 3 Water Budget Assessment 65 7.0 KNOWLEDGE/ DATA UNDERSTANDING AND ISSUES ........................................ 66 7.1 COMMENTS ON THE KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................................... 66 7.1.1 Requirements Based on Scale and Complexity 67 7.1.2 Technical Requirements for Policy Development 69 7.2 GENERAL SCIENCE ISSUES................................................................................... 70 7.3 SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE WATERLOO MORAINE .. 71 7.3.1 Waterloo Moraine Boundary 72 7.3.2 Geology and Hydrogeology 74 7.3.3 Functions of the Waterloo Moraine 75 7.3.4 Water Quantity/ Water Budget 78 7.3.5 Water Quality 79 7.4 SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE PARIS/ GALT MORAINES80 7.4.1 Paris/ Galt Moraine Boundary 80 7.4.2 Geology and Hydrostratigraphy 81 7.4.3 Significant Functions of the Paris and Galt Moraines 81 7.4.4 Water Quantity and Budget 83 7.4.5 Water Quality 84 8.0 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 85 List of Figures Figure 1.3.1: Approximate Area of the Waterloo, Paris and Galt Moraines (mapping provided by MOE) Figure 1.3.2: Location of the Waterloo Moraine within the Region of Waterloo Figure 2.1.1: The Hydrologic Cycle Figure 2.2.1: Generalized Groundwater Flow System Figure 2.2.2: Scales of Groundwater Flow Figure 2.3.1: Water Budget Illustration Figure 2.3.2: Groundwater Storage Figure 3.1.1: Formation of Moraines Figure 3.1.2: Moraines of Southwestern Ontario Figure 3.2.1: (a) Example of a Moraine with a Low Topographic Relief; (b) Example of a Moraine with a High Topographic Relief Figure 3.2.2 Examples of the Influence of Geologic Structure on the Water Regime Figure 3.2.3 Examples of the Influence of Drainage System Connections Figure 3.3.1: Location of the Waterloo Moraine within the Grand River Watershed February 2009 FINAL REPORT iii REVIEW OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE WATERLOO AND PARIS/ GALT MORAINES Figure 3.3.2: Topographic Relief of the Waterloo Moraine Area Figure 3.3.3: Surface Water Drainage from the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.4: Overburden Thickness of the Waterloo Moraine Area Figure 3.3.5: Creation of the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.6: Ice Lobes That Created the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.7: Surficial Geology of the Waterloo Moraine Area Figure 3.3.8: Till Stratigraphy in the Waterloo Moraine Area Figure 3.3.9: Location of Existing Wells or Well Fields in the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.10: Geologic Cross-sections Developed Through the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.11: Conceptual Hydrogeological Cross-section of the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.12: Interpreted Water Table Contours within the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.13: Interpreted Major Recharge Area within the Waterloo Moraine Figure 3.3.14: Location of Hydrostratigraphic Cross-Sections