BOMONT WATERSHED AREA SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PLAN May, 2017 Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ 2 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 7 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE BOMONT WATERSHED AREA ......................................................................... 8 2.1 HISTORY OF BOMONT WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM ........................................................................................... 8 Pre Halifax Water Ownership ................................................................................................................. 8 Halifax Water Acquisition Process .......................................................................................................... 8 2.2 LAND FORM, LANDSCAPE CHARACTERIZATION AND WATER QUALITY ........................................................ 9 Ecological Land Classifications .............................................................................................................. 9 Geology .................................................................................................................................................. 16 Surficial Geology ................................................................................................................................... 21 Topography ............................................................................................................................................ 24 Soils ....................................................................................................................................................... 25 Water ..................................................................................................................................................... 29 Climate ................................................................................................................................................... 36 Flora and Fauna .................................................................................................................................... 37 Cultural and Social Environment .......................................................................................................... 37 MAP A: ECOREGIONS, ECODISTRICTS AND ECOSECTIONS .................................................................... 39 MAP B: BEDROCK GEOLOGY ............................................................................................................................ 40 MAP C: SURFICIAL GEOLOGY .......................................................................................................................... 41 MAP D: SOIL AND TOPOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 42 MAP E: WATERSHEDS, HYDROLOGY, ELEVATION AND SAMPLING POINTS .................................... 43 MAP F: COMMUNITIES AND POPULATIONS ................................................................................................. 44 2.3 WATERSHED PROFILE ................................................................................................................................. 45 Location ................................................................................................................................................. 45 Land Cover ............................................................................................................................................ 45 Built Form .............................................................................................................................................. 45 Landownership ...................................................................................................................................... 59 2.4 GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................................................. 62 Water Supply Area Delineation ............................................................................................................. 62 Federal Policies and Regulations .......................................................................................................... 62 Provincial Policies and Regulations ...................................................................................................... 63 Municipal Planning Policies and By-laws ............................................................................................. 67 Halifax Water BoMont Watershed Source Water Protection Plan May 2017 Page 2 MAP G: LAND COVER IN RISK ZONE AREAS (RAZ) .................................................................................... 71 MAP H: RESTRICTED AND DESIGNATED LAND USE AREAS.................................................................... 72 MAP I: LAND USE AND LANDOWNERSHIP IN RISK AREA ZONES (RAZ) .............................................. 73 MAP J: EAST HANTS BYLAW ZONES ............................................................................................................... 74 MAP K: HRM REGIONAL GFLUM AND COMMUNITY PLAN AREAS ...................................................... 75 MAP L: UTILITY (POWER, WATER, GAS) CORRIDORS .............................................................................. 76 MAP M: HRM PRIMARY WATER SUPPLY WATERSHED AND DISTRIBUTION AREAS ..................... 77 3 RISK IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................... 78 3.1 INHERENT RISK FACTORS ........................................................................................................................... 78 General Land-Use ................................................................................................................................. 79 Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) ...................................................................................... 79 Residential ............................................................................................................................................. 82 Recreation .............................................................................................................................................. 84 Transportation Corridors ...................................................................................................................... 85 Utilities .................................................................................................................................................. 87 Chemicals .............................................................................................................................................. 91 Waste Refuse/ Disposal sites Sites and Infilling .................................................................................... 96 3.2 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ....................................................................................................................... 96 Critical Infrastructure Threats and Hazards ......................................................................................... 97 3.3 RISK ASSESSMENT SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 100 4 MANAGEMENT PLAN ................................................................................................................................ 113 4.1 BACKGROUND........................................................................................................................................... 113 4.2 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ................................................................................................................... 113 Land Acquisition Program ................................................................................................................... 114 Best Management Practices ................................................................................................................. 114 Public Communication, Education and Awareness ............................................................................. 114 Management Committee ...................................................................................................................... 115 Regulations and Land-use By Laws ..................................................................................................... 116 Public Roads and Highways ................................................................................................................ 117 Physical Barriers and Signage ............................................................................................................ 118 Boundary Maintenance .......................................................................................................................