Abstracts

with the existing well system without affecting sensitive ecosystems. The broader role of
the Moraine’s groundwater within the Grand River watershed is also examined. Threats
to the quantity and quality of the Region’s groundwater are examined, and a framework
for threats assessment for different types and scales of threats is developed. Finally, the
science is translated into science-based policy satisfying the objectives of both environmental
protection and source water protection. As an alternative for rural areas, collaborative
decision-making integrating expert science, local knowledge, and community beliefs/values
is explored. Finally, the issue of knowledge management, important in the context of
complex problems, is discussed.
This work has provided the Region with a solid basis for managing its groundwater source.
The source is sustainable for at least the next forty years, and external water sources will
not be needed. Beyond that, sustainability will depend on maintaining the balance between
supply and demand.
191 - Assessment of the Long-term Sustainability of Groundwater
Aquifers in the Waterloo Moraine and Surrounding Areas
Patricia Meyer, Paul Martin, & Martinus Brouwers
Matrix Solutions Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Richard Wootton & Eric Hodgins
Region of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
A Tier Three Water Budget and Local Area Risk Assessment (Tier Three Assessment)
was recently completed within the Region of Waterloo. The study evaluated whether the
municipality’s drinking water wells would be able to meet future demand without negatively
impacting other water uses including sensitive coldwater streams, rivers and wetlands.
Two groundwater flow models were used in the Tier Three Assessment; one was used to
evaluate the well fields within the Kitchener-Waterloo area (the Regional Model), and the
second was used to evaluate the well fields within the Cambridge area (the Cambridge
Model). A GAWSER watershed-based flow generation model was also used to evaluate
surface water conditions and partition precipitation into overland flow, evapotranspiration
and groundwater recharge.
Following a detailed calibration at the well field scale (to long-term and time varying conditions),
the two groundwater flow models were used to conduct a series of Risk Assessment
scenarios to evaluate potential changes in groundwater elevations at the municipal
wells and groundwater discharge to sensitive surface water features under various conditions.
The scenarios included evaluation of current and future municipal pumping, current
and future land development (as specified in the Region’s Official Plan), and long-term
drought. Results of these scenarios were used to assign risk levels to the Local Areas, an
area defined as the cone of influence of the municipal wells, as well as land areas where reductions
in recharge had the potential to have a measurable impact on the municipal wells.
All four Local Areas within the Region were assigned a Low Risk Level. Within the
Kitchener-Waterloo area, the integrated system of municipal groundwater supply wells are
92 IAH-CNC 2015 WATERLOO CONFERENCE