WorldWide Drilling Resource

Ontario’s Real-World Groundwater Lab Adapted from Information Provided by the University of Guelph G360 Centre for Applied Groundwater Research Members were treated to a guided tour of the Bedrock Aquifer Field Facility (BAFF) at the university of Guelph (u of G). Equipment manufacturers and suppliers, along with scientists and well drilling professionals eagerly gathered around as Dr. Beth Parker, an engineering professor and director of the G360 Centre for Applied Groundwater Research described ground-breaking investigations taking place at the facility, during Ontario Ground Water Association’s 2015 annual conference. Dr. Parker is a groundwater expert with over 25 years of experience researching subsurface contamination issues at industrial sites across the globe. She oversees the BAFF, where researchers study everything from how contami- nants travel through groundwater in fractured rock and how they affect well water supplies, to whether they can be eas- ily removed or destroyed. “What we learn here will help advance our understanding of entire urban water systems in Canada and around the world,” said Dr. Parker. The BAFF is located at the main u of G campus on a crucial bedrock aquifer in the Grand River watershed. It offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for applied groundwater field research in a fractured bedrock environment. Over one million people in some of Ontario, Canada’s fastest-growing communities rely on bedrock aquifers for water. As demand increases, so do poten- tial risks associated with contamination of the water- yielding underground layers of porous, fractured rock. Bedrock aquifers are particularly vulnerable, as Parker pointed out. Water flows in fractures at exceptionally high velocity and can rapidly spread contaminants, including human viruses. To date, little information is available about how and why this happens in bedrock aquifers compared to other aquifer types such as sand and gravel. The Guelph water system has become a “living laboratory” at the BAFF. This is the first time an urban bedrock aquifer system has been subjected to such a comprehensive investigation. The facility is centered around a cluster of five vertical boreholes surrounded by three angled holes and background monitoring installations, each drilled 246 feet through the regional aquifer into the shale under- neath. Future work on the site will include 3-D characterization of fractures and physical properties to better understand flow and transport in the Guelph aquifer. The subsurface monitoring infrastructure associated with the BAFF is expected to provide researchers the most complete data sets available about the changing aquifer system below. With the extensive experi- ence of the research team and continued support from provincial and federal govern- ment agencies, creative solutions are an- ticipated to solve pressing water challenges posed by economic development and ur- banization. The facility is making the most of this opportunity for education and out- reach with research that is relevant both locally and globally. Dr. Beth Parker talks to the tour group. A group admires core samples inside the BAFF warehouse. WWDR photos. Dr. Parker and colleagues explain the importance of corehole liners to eliminate cross-connection in the hole. +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 *,'*&,% "4&2 &,, /.6&.4*/.", ".% &6&23& *2$5,"4*/. 2*,, *0& 15*0-&.4 +9 &8 ,&6"4/23 2& 3&% /2,%7*%& ! 2&8 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- ,&6"4/23 /"% 4&34 $&24*'*$"4&3 "6"*,"#,& * $ "% * $ ( # * $ "% * " # % ! ! $% " ! ! # " ' $ # )" ! )" "# ) % # ) ! "# & )"6& &,&6"4/23 /' ",, 3*:&3 490&3 ".% 7&*()43 ".% $". #5*,% 4/ ".9 30&$*", "00,*$"4*/.3 ) ' & # ) $ ( "# ) $" % % !# ) " ## & " % # ) $# ) ' # &7 3&% 15*0-&.4 6"*,"#,& 777 2&8-$'"%%&. $/- &% ! "" * "(%$ ))) (" $( ' & $ %# # " (" $( $ ( " !" !! ! &% ! % ! (" $( & $ $ $ " ! $ $ ! ! $ ! $ # $ $ $ 32 MARCH 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®