Water sustainability a key mega quarry issue

2011-07-28 / Front Page By DAN PELTON Staff Reporter

As the controversial Highland mega-quarry application enters its final phases, potential effects on the areas water tables have been a flashpoint in the arguments for and against the proposed pit. Opponents of the quarry argue that the operation, which will dig well below the present water table, will disrupt essential groundwater movements and surface water flow; as well as contaminate water of not only Dufferin County, but parts of Simcoe County and the Greater Toronto Area as well. Highland says it will install a system of basal trenches, sumps and pumps to ensure that the 600,000 cubic metres to be used daily by the quarry will not cause undue stress on the water table. There have been increased calls for an independent environmental assessment (EA) of the project. Those calling for the EA include Melancthon Council, and Dufferin County council is considering following suit. Ontarios Aggregate Resources Act says such a review is not required for such projects. Highland has completed a report as part of its application, which is currently under review by both the provincial ministries of Natural Resources and Environment. Speaking for the Ministry of Natural Resources, senior media relations officer Jolanta Kowalski said Highland has up to two years to attempt to resolve outstanding objections to the application submitted from circulated agencies and the public. This may result in further measures to mitigate any potential impacts. Since the process remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time.

Highland has cited the Holland Marsh as an example of how technology can co-exist with the environment. The Holland Marsh is slightly below the water table, comprises about 20,000 acres (8,000 hectares) and drains an additional 26,000 acres of land around it. To keep it dry for farming, water is pumped into a series of diked canals and flows to Lake Simcoe via the Holland River. Drainage operations began in 1925 and the project was completed in 1930. In its application, Highland acknowledged that the operation of the quarry will influence the components of the hydrologic cycle, the process of water circulation as it moves from the atmosphere on and through the ground as surface and ground water and back into the atmosphere. This cycle is factored into determining the water budget. Other components of the water budget include surface water flow and groundwater movement, consumption and usage of water in the area, as well as any changes that occur when it comes to water storage. Its the subject of groundwater movement that concerns Rob Keffer, a farmer and deputy mayor of Bradford West Gwillimbury, the municipality that includes roughly half of the Holland Marsh. There is so much that is unknown about groundwater flow, said Mr. Keffer in an interview. More research is needed. In the case of Melancthon, Mr. Keffer pointed out that Highland could be recharging (the water back into the ground), but the water could end up flowing back into the quarry. While the deputy mayor questions whether current knowledge of groundwater is sufficient, Highland appears to have a detailed explanation of how it moves on the proposed quarry site. A hydrogeological report on the companys website explains that the groundwater conditions in the vicinity of the quarry site are part of the Niagara Escarpment. This groundwater moves in an easterly to southeasterly direction where it discharges to the ground surface as seeps or springs, says

the report, adding the water provides base flow to watercourses, or continues to move as groundwater in an easterly direction. Highland says its basal trenches permeable trenches located below the quarry floor would allow for water quality and temperatures similar to groundwater moving through surrounding bedrock, since the trenches and the water they convey would be below the quarry floor. As the land is being rehabilitated, which Highland says will be an ongoing process while the quarry is in operation, the company says the trenches would be backfilled with 50-mm diameter clean stone and covered with a fibre cloth prior to rehabilitation. The sumps water collection points on the quarry floor would collect water from the basal trenches and other fractured areas of the surface. Their final spacing would be based on the influx of groundwater, water movement through the basal trenches and the performance of the system. Highland says the pumps would have different characteristics. For example, high-volume pumps would be used to move large volumes of water horizontally. High head pumps, on the other hand, would be used to lift water vertically, Highland says the average daily volume of water for each extraction area would range from about 50,000 to 214,000 cubic metres per day.