Assessment Report Hamilton Region Source Protection Area
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Assessment Report Hamilton Region Source Protection Area Prepared on behalf of the Halton-Hamilton Source Protection Committee January, 2012 Assessment Report for the Hamilton Region Source Protection Area Version 2.1 January, 2012 Approved by Ministry of the Environment February 9, 2012 Prepared by: Halton-Hamilton Source Protection staff Edited by: Cynthia O’Brien and Chelsea Donaldson Photo Credits: In Text - Source Protection staff or as noted Cover - waterfall - Hamilton Conservation Authority shoreline - Halton Region Additional copies may be obtained by contacting: Halton-Hamilton Source Protection Region 4052 Milburough Line, R.R. #2 Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Phone - 905-854-9229 E-mail - [email protected] For more information about the Clean Water Act, 2006 and how you can play a role in protecting drinking water sources in the Halton-Hamilton Source Protection Region, please visit our website: www.protectingwater.ca Version 2.1, January 2012 HAMILTON REGION SOURCE PROTECTION AREA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ASSESSMENT REPORT Executive Summary Background The Town of Walkerton’s contaminated drinking water tragedy in 2000 prompted the introduction by the Government of Ontario of new legislation to safeguard Ontario’s drinking water supplies. The Clean Water Act, 2006, is one piece of this legislation. Essentially, the Act requires communities to develop science-based protection plans for their existing and future drinking water sources. This Assessment Report will be the foundation for the development of a Source Protection Plan for the Hamilton Region Source Protection Area. The Area comprises lands within the municipalities of the City of Hamilton, the Township of Puslinch/County of Wellington, and the Town of Grimsby/Niagara Region. It is partially served by two municipal drinking water systems located within the Source Protection Area and operated by the City of Hamilton, partially by a municipal system in the neighbouring Niagara Peninsula Source Protection Area, and partially by private services. The Woodward system and neighbouring Grimsby system take water from Lake Ontario and distribute it to approximately 96.7 percent of the population within the Hamilton Region Source Protection Area. The Greensville well, situated within Middle Spencer Creek, a subwatershed of the Spencer Creek watershed, serves 0.03 percent. The remaining nearly 3 percent of the population rely on private systems, including wells and cisterns. Significant Findings Building upon an analysis of the characteristics of Hamilton Area watersheds, water budgets were completed to assess the availability and use of water supplies within the Area. Water quantity stress assessments were then completed to identify areas requiring further study. Finally, threats to water quality from ongoing, potential, or past activities were identified, and the associated risks were assessed. Existing stresses on surface water quantity: This Assessment Report identifies 5 subwatersheds that are significantly stressed and 9 that are moderately stressed based on monthly demand on the available surface water supply. The municipal surface water intakes in the Source Protection Area are located in Lake Ontario and not within these stressed subwatersheds. Therefore, under the Clean Water Act, 2006, these 14 stressed subwatersheds do not warrant further study. Existing stresses on groundwater quantity: This report also identifies three subwatersheds that are stressed based on monthly and/or annual demand on available groundwater supply. These include the Middle Spencer Creek subwatershed, in which the Greensville municipal well operates. A more focused study of this area will be undertaken and the findings documented in a future amendment to this report. Existing stresses on source water quality: Neither of the two municipal drinking water supplies within Hamilton Region Source Protection Area have existing water quality issues Version 2.1, January 2012 i HAMILTON REGION SOURCE PROTECTION AREA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ASSESSMENT REPORT that could render the supplies unusable. Also, neither water supply exhibits a significant threat due to conditions resulting from past land use activities. Existing and future risks to source water quality: Only within the Greensville wellhead protection area are vulnerability scores high enough to pose potential significant threats to groundwater quality. Existing activities that could cause an issue at the well are associated with sewage systems and the handling and storage of dense non-aqueous phase liquids. The numbers of occurrences of these various drinking water threats in the Hamilton Area are documented in Section 7 of this Assessment Report. Modelling results also show existing risks to Lake Ontario water quality from activities occurring within and outside the Hamilton Region Source Protection Area. Follow Up This Assessment Report is a living document. It will be reviewed and updated periodically in compliance with the Clean Water Act and as data/information becomes available that could affect the Source Protection Plan. The Clean Water Act, 2006, and Regulation 287/07 specify that when the Source Protection Authority and the Source Protection Committee are both of the opinion that an amendment is advisable, then an amendment to a Source Protection Plan may be proposed. This report identifies technical work that will be completed over the next few years. The Source Protection Plan will be developed during this time and submitted to the Minister of the Environment. Following the completion of the technical work and the assessment of the need for policies to address any items that are brought forward, an amendment will be proposed. Consultation with stakeholders on all proposed amendments will occur. ii Version 2.1, January 2012 HAMILTON REGION SOURCE PROTECTION AREA TABLE OF CONTENTS ASSESSMENT REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................i 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. THE SOURCE PROTECTION PLANNING PROCESS ........................................................................... 1 1.2. THE ASSESSMENT REPORT AND ITS FOCUS .................................................................................. 2 1.3. PARTICIPANTS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS .................................................................................. 4 2. HAMILTON REGION SOURCE PROTECTION AREA .......................................................... 6 2.1. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY................................................................................................................. 8 2.1.1. Physiography and Surficial Geology: Landforms................................................................8 2.1.2. Bedrock Geology: Rock Formations and Landforms.........................................................14 2.1.3. Hydrostratigraphy: Groundwater Resources..................................................................... 21 2.1.4. Land Cover......................................................................................................................... 22 2.2. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 26 2.2.1. Existing Policies for the Protection of Water Sources ....................................................... 27 2.2.2 Population Distribution and Density..................................................................................29 2.2.3. Land Use............................................................................................................................. 33 3. HAMILTON REGION SOURCE PROTECTION AREA WATERSHEDS........................... 36 3.1. SPENCER CREEK.......................................................................................................................... 36 3.2. URBAN HAMILTON CORE............................................................................................................ 43 3.3. RED HILL CREEK......................................................................................................................... 44 3.4. URBAN HAMILTON BEACH STRIP ............................................................................................... 46 3.5. STONEY-BATTLEFIELD CREEKS.................................................................................................. 46 3.6. STONEY CREEK WATERCOURSES................................................................................................ 47 3.7. GREAT LAKES WATER ................................................................................................................ 47 3.7.1. Lake Ontario....................................................................................................................... 47 3.7.2. Hamilton Harbour.............................................................................................................. 49 3.7.3. Cootes Paradise ................................................................................................................. 51 4. WATE R MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING ..................................................................... 53 4.1. METEOROLOGICAL DATA ........................................................................................................... 53 4.1.2. Long-term Climate Data....................................................................................................