groundwater in manitoba: hydrogeology, quality concerns

53
Robert Betcher Water Resources Branch Manitoba Natural Resources Gary Grove National Hydrology Research Institute Environment Canada and Christian Pupp State of Environment Reporting Environment Canada Environmental Sciences Division National Hydrology Research Institute Environment Canada Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5 GROUNDWATER IN MANITOBA: HYDROGEOLOGY, QUALITY CONCERNS, MANAGEMENT NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017 March, 1995

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Page 1: Groundwater in Manitoba: Hydrogeology, Quality Concerns

Robert BetcherWater Resources Branch

Manitoba Natural Resources

Gary GroveNational Hydrology Research Institute

Environment Canada

and

Christian PuppState of Environment Reporting

Environment Canada

Environmental Sciences DivisionNational Hydrology Research Institute

Environment CanadaSaskatoon, Saskatchewan

S7N 3H5

GROUNDWATER IN MANITOBA:

HYDROGEOLOGY, QUALITY CONCERNS, MANAGEMENT

NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017March, 1995

Page 2: Groundwater in Manitoba: Hydrogeology, Quality Concerns

ERRATA:

Page 13, the first sentence beneath the heading "GroundwaterFlow Systems" should read "The point-water potentiometricsurface…"

Page 13, the caption for Figure 8 should read "Point-waterpotentiometric surface and expected regional groundwater flowin the Winnipeg Formation"

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Groundwater in Manitoba: Hydrogeology, Quality Concerns, Management

ABSTRACT

Groundwater forms an important source of municipal,industrial, agricultural and residential water supply inManitoba. Groundwater is available from a number ofextensive bedrock aquifers along the margins of HudsonBay and within the Western Canada Sedimentary Basinand from sand and gravel aquifers found within glacialdeposits in many parts of the province. The geologicalframework for these aquifers is presented and the majoraquifer units discussed in terms of occurrence, ground-water availability, yield and water quality.

Groundwater quality is highly variable in most aquiferunits in Manitoba. Groundwaters become increasinglysaline with depth in most bedrock and some sand andgravel aquifers. Salinity also increases from east to westin most bedrock aquifers in the Western CanadaSedimentary Basin. The concentrations of several natu-

rally occurring constituents exceed drinking water guide-lines locally. Many aquifers are poorly protected fromnear-surface contamination sources and, as a result,anthropogenic contamination has been found in someareas. The major groundwater quality management con-cerns include underground storage tanks, agriculturalactivities, saline water intrusion and waste disposal.

Provincial legislation relating to water resources andgroundwater protection is summarized. Two agencies,Manitoba Natural Resources and Manitoba Environment,have primary responsibility for the development andadministration of this legislation and for the provision ofgroundwater monitoring, mapping and analysis. Theseagencies are also responsible for ensuring that ground-water development takes place in a sustainable manner.

Au Manitoba, les eaux souterraines constituent unepartie importante de I’approvisionnement municipal,industriel, agricole et résidentiel. Ces eaux sont con-tenues dans un certain nombre de vastes aquifères dusubstrat rocheux situés sur les bords des bassins sédi-mentaires de la baie d’Hudson et de I’ouest du Canada,ainsi que dans des aquifères de substrat de sable ou degravier qu’on trouve dans des dépôts glaciaires à denombreux endroits de la province. Leur structuregéologique est présentée, et les principaux aquifères fontI’objet d’une discussion portant sur leur nombre, leur pro-duction, et le volume et la qualité des eaux qu’ils renfer-ment.

La qualité des eaux souterraines varie beaucoupdans la plupart des aquifères du Manitoba. Dans lamajorité des aquifères de substrats rocheux et dansbeaucoup d’aquifères de substrat de sable ou de gravier,la salinité des eaux augmente avec la profondeur. Elleaugmente aussi lorsque I’on se déplace d’est en ouest

dans la plupart des aquifères du bassin sédimentaire deI’ouest du Canada. À certains endroits, la concentrationde plusieurs éléments naturels dépasse les normesfixées pour I’eau potable. Beaucoup d’aquifères sont malprotégés des sources de pollution proches de la surfaceet, par conséquent, on y a trouvé dans certaines régionsune pollution anthropique. Parmi les principaux prob-lèmes concernant la qualité de I’eau figurent les réser-voirs souterrains de stockage, les activités agricoles, lapénétration d’eau salée et I’enfouissement des déchets.

On donne par ailleurs un résumé de la législationprovinciale portant sur les ressources en eau et la protec-tion des eaux souterraines. Ressources naturellesManitoba et Environnement Manitoba sont les deux min-istères chargés de I’élaboration et de la mise en oeuvrede cette législation. Ils s’occupent aussi de la surveil-lance, de la cartographie et de I’analyse des eaux souter-raines, et veillent à ce que I’exploitation de cetteressource se fasse de manière durable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express their appreciationto the many individuals whose hard work and dedicationover the past several decades has provided the excellentlevel of understanding of groundwater conditions inManitoba which has been summarized in this report.Chief among these have been a number of provincialhydrogeologists: L. Gray, M. Rutulis, F. Render, A.Pedersen. J. Little and D. Sie.

The authors would also like to express our apprecia-tion to the numerous individuals who reviewed this reportand provided valuable constructive comments. Thanksalso to J. Jewell for typing and retyping the seeminglyendless drafts of the report while maintaining her senseof humour and to R. Palka who drafted the figures andorganized the document.

NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017 March, 1995

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ii NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017 March, 1995

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT/RÉSUMÉ/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............... i

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1

1. HYDROGEOLOGY 3.......................................................................

1.1

1.21.31.41.5

1.6

1.7

Physiography, Drainage and Climate 3.......................................1.1 .1 Physiographic Regions ................................................ 31.1.2 Drainage ....................................................................... 31.1.3 Climate 4.........................................................................Bedrock Geology ...................................................................... 5Surficial Geology ....................................................................... 7Hydrostratigraphic Units ........................................................... 7Precambrian Shield Physiographic Region ............................. 81.5.1 Precambrian Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks .......... 81.5.2 Sand and Gravel Aquifers ........................................... 9Hudson Bay Lowland Physiographic Region .......................... 101.6.1 Carbonate-Evaporite Unit ............................................ 101.6.2 Sand and Gravel Aquifers ............................................ 10Western Glaciated Plains Physiographic Region ................... 111.7.1 Bedrock Aquifers ........................................................ 11

1.7.1.1 Basal Clastic Unit .................................................. 111.7.1.2 Carbonate-Evaporite Unit ..................................... 151.7.1.3 Jurassic Aquifers ................................................... 191.7.1.4 Swan River Formation Aquifer .............................. 191.7.1.55 Odanah Shale Aquifer .......................................... 201.7.1.6 Boissevain and Turtle Mountain

Formation Aquifers ................................................ 211.7.2 Sand and Gravel Aquifers .......................................... 22

2. GROUNDWATER QUALIT Y CONCERNS ........................... 25

2.1 Natural Constituents ............................................................... 252.1.1 Uranium ....................................................................... 252.1.2 Fluoride ....................................................................... 252.1.3 Boron .......................................................................... 262.1.4 Arsenic ....................................................................... 262.1.5 Radium ....................................................................... 262.1.6 Iron/Manganese .......................................................... 262.1.7 Other Problems .......................................................... 27

2.2 Anthropogenic Concerns ....................................................... 272.2.1 Saline Water Intrusion ................................................ 272.2.2 Waste Disposal ........................................................... 282.2.3 Underground Storage Tanks ...................................... 282.2.4 Lagoons and Septic Tanks ........................................... 292.2.5 Agricultural Activities .................................................. 292.2.6 Bacterial Contamination .............................................. 29

3. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT - LEGISLATIVEINSTRUMENTS .......................................................................... 31

3.1 Water Resources Legislation .................................................. 313.1 .1 The Water Resources Administration Act .................. 313.1.2 The Water Rights Act ................................................. 313.1.3 The Ground Water and Water Well Act ..................... 313.1.4 The Planning Act ................................................... 313.1.5 The Municipal Act .................................................. 313.1.6 The Conservation Districts Act ................................. 323.1.7 The Manitoba Water Services Board Act .................. 323.1.8 The Department of Agriculture Act ........................... 32

3.2 Water Quality Legislation ...................................................... 323.2.1 The Environment Act ......................................... 323.2.2 The Public Health Act ............................................. 333.2.3 The Pesticides and Fertilizer Control Act

and the Environment Act Regulation 94/88R- Pesticides ................................................................ 33

3.2.4 The Dangerous Goods Handling andTransportation Act ................................................... 33

3.2.5 The Mines and Minerals Act andThe Oil and Gas Act ................................................... 33

4. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT - INSTITUTIONALINSTRUMENTS ......................................................................... 35

4.1

4.2

Department of Environment ................................................... 354.1.1 Environmental Management Division .......................... 364.1.2 Environmental Operations Division ............................ 36Department of Natural Resources .......................................... 364.2.1 Water Licensing Section ............................................. 364.2.2 Groundwater Management Section ............................ 36

5. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT - OTHERINSTRUMENTS.. ......................................................................... 37

5.1 Monitoring ............................................................................... 375.1.1. Water Level Monitoring .................................................. 37

5.1.1.1 Water Resources Branch ....................................... 375.1.1.2 Atomic Energy of Canada Limited ......................... 375.1.1.3 Other Organizations ............................................... 37

5.1.2 Water Quality Monitoring ............................................ 375.1.2.1 Water Resources Branch ....................................... 375.1.2.2 Department of Environment ...................................... 375.1.2.3 Other Organizations ............................................... 38

5.2 Mapping, Aquifer Resource Evaluation ................................... 385.2.1 Regional Hydrogeologic Mapping ............................... 385.2.2 Groundwater Pollution Hazard Mapping ..................... 395.2.3 Aquifer Capacity Studies .......................................... 39

5.3 Data Collection ....................................................................... 395.3.1 Manitoba Water Resources Branch ............................ 395.3.2 Manitoba Environment ............................................. 405.3.3 Manitoba Energy and Mines ....................................... 40

5.4 Technical Assistance ............................................................. 405.4.1 Technology Transfer ................................................... 405.4.2 Assistance with Well Problems ................................... 40

5.5 Financial Assistance ............................................................... 41

6. REFERENCES 43............................................................................

7. CONTACTS AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION ............. 47

TABLES

1. Geological formations and hydrostratigraphic unitsin the WCSB of Manitoba ......................................................... 6

2. Geochemistry of fresh groundwaters in the carbonate -evaporite unit .......................................................................... 18

FIGURES1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

9.10.11.

12.13.14.15.

16.

17.

Physiographic regions of Manitoba .......................................... 3Surface water drainage ............................................................. 3Mean annual precipitation ......................................................... 4Mean annual potential evapotranspiration ............................... 4Generalized bedrock geology of Manitoba .............................. 5Geologic cross-section along Manitoba-U.S.A. border ........... 12lsopach of the Winnipeg Formation Aquifer ............................ 12Equivalent fresh head and regional groundwater flow inWinnipeg Formation ................................................................ 13Total dissolved solids of Winnipeg Formation groundwaters ... 13Caliper log of test hole into carbonate-evaporite unit ............. 15Regional groundwater movement in carbonate -evaporite unit .......................................................................... 16Groundwater quality in carbonate - evaporite unit .................. 18Distribution of the Swan River Formation . . ............................. 19Distribution of the Odanah Shale Aquifer .............................. 20Sand and gravel aquifers in the Western GlaciatedPlains Region .......................................................................... 23Fluoride concentrations in groundwater in southernManitoba ................................................................................. 26Regional Groundwater Availability Studies and PollutionHazard Maps .......................................................................... 38

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iv NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017 March, 1995

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INTRODUCTION

This report describes the groundwater resources andquality in Manitoba, environmental concerns relating togroundwater quality, and the tools available for ground-water management and protection (legislation, institutionsand programs). It is one of a series of reports that coverthe 10 provinces and two territories of Canada.

The primary focus of this report is on groundwaterquality but groundwater resources and management ofthese resources are also discussed in recognition of theclose relationship between quality and quantity. Also dis-cussed are instruments for management directed primari-ly at protecting surface water or drinking water, but usedalso to protect groundwater. It should also be recognizedthat in some cases groundwater is protected mainlybecause it may be a pathway for contamination of sur-face water.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

The report is organized into five sections:

a description of the regional physical hydrogeology ofManitoba and a discussion of groundwater quality,

groundwater quality concerns caused either byhuman activity or of natural origin,

the legal basis for groundwater management (“leg-islative instruments”),

the provincial institutions for groundwater manage-ment (“institutional instruments”), and

specific programs (i.e. monitoring, data collection,classification and management plans, technical andfinancial assistance, etc.).

The report was produced jointly by EnvironmentCanada (the State of the Environment Reporting and theNational Hydrology Research Institute) and the Manitoba

Department of Natural Resources. Many provincial andfederal officials provided support and assistance in theform of information and reviews. Because the responsi-bility for our water resources lies primarily with the provin-cial governments, and it is the provincial officials whodeal with groundwater on a regular basis, their supportand collaboration is particularly valuable.

This report, together with those of the other provincesand territories, has several purposes. First, the reportswill form the basis for a forthcoming overview of ground-water in Canada. That overview will be part of the newfederal effort to report on the state of the environment inCanada, an effort tied to the goal of sustainable develop-ment. Second, the report attempts to provide compre-hensive information on the different concerns and activi-ties related to groundwater in the province. Thus thisreport can be useful for anyone involved in groundwater,be they the public, consultants, industry or officials of dif-ferent levels of government. In effect, the report can forma bridge between different groups and help them tounderstand more fully each others’ concerns, goals andendeavours. Finally, we want to provide a description ofhow groundwater concerns are dealt with in the variousjurisdictions of Canada. We hope this may lead toincreased awareness and form the basis for future collab-oration.

As will be apparent throughout the report, the toolsfor groundwater management are mostly legislation, insti-tutions or programs developed for overall water manage-ment, or for the management of waste, pesticides andother potential pollutants rather than for groundwatermanagement alone. This may reflect the nature ofgroundwater management, indicating that groundwaterand its management should be considered as one com-ponent part of a much larger scheme of land and watermanagement, not as an isolated concern.

NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017 March, 1995 1

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1. HYDROGEOLOGY

1.1 PHYSIOGRAPHY, DRAINAGE AND CLIMATE

1.1.1 Physiographic Regions

Manitoba may be divided into four physiographicregions: the Precambrian Shield which covers about60% of the province, the Hudson Bay Lowland, theManitoba Lowland and the Manitoba Upland. The lattertwo form the Western Glaciated Plains region of Lennoxet al. (1988). These regions are shown on Figure 1.

The Precambrian Shield physiographic regionstretches from northwestern to southeastern Manitobaand consists of a hummocky terrain of eroded crystallinebedrock, partly to mostly covered by Quaternarydeposits. Surface elevation generally does not exceed350 m above sea level with relief seldom exceeding 30m. Much of the land surface is occupied by swamp andmuskeg. Drainage is generally poor.

The Hudson Bay Lowland physiographic region is anarea of low relief and poor drainage lying along the south-western shores of Hudson Bay. This area is underlain byPaleozoic carbonates on which rest variable thicknessesof calcareous tills and marine and non-marine sands, siltsand clays.

The Manitoba Lowland is an area of gentle relief lyingto the east of the Manitoba Escarpment. This area is

Figure 1. Physiographic regions of Manitoba.

underlain by gently southwestward dipping Paleozoic andMesozoic sediments consisting mainly of carbonate rockswith some clastic and argillaceous units. Bedrock isoverlain by glacial tills and proglacial lacustrine sedi-ments. The major lakes of Manitoba occupy portions ofthis lowland area.

The Manitoba Upland lies to the west of the ManitobaEscarpment. Bedrock consists of Mesozoic andCenozoic shales and sandstones with minor limestonesand evaporites. This is an area of rolling hills grading intoa series of uplands known as the Porcupine Hills, DuckMountain, Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills and TurtleMountain. Elevations locally exceed 800 m above sealevel.

1.1.2 Drainage

The major lakes of the Manitoba Lowland act as col-lectors for drainage within the southern part of theprovince. Drainage is directed through Lake Winnipeginto the Nelson River system which discharges intoHudson Bay. The surface water drainage basins ofManitoba are shown on Figure 2.

Major rivers entering southern Manitoba from thewest include the Saskatchewan carrying drainage frommuch of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, with dis-charge into Lake Winnipeg at Grand Rapids, and the

Figure 2. Surface water drainage.

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Assiniboine and Souris which carry drainage intoManitoba from southeastern Saskatchewan and north-western North Dakota. The central part of the ManitobaUpland and the western lnterlake drain into LakesManitoba and Winnipegosis through a series of smallerstreams. Discharge from the Lake Manitoba basin flowsinto Lake Winnipeg via the Dauphin River.

The Red River enters southern Manitoba at Emerson,carrying run-off water from parts of Minnesota, NorthDakota and South Dakota. The river then collectsdrainage from much of southcentral Manitoba before con-verging with the Assiniboine River at Winnipeg and con-tinuing northward, discharging into Lake Winnipeg. TheRed River drainage basin occupies an area of about111,000 km2 of which about 100,000 km2 lies in theUnited States. Lake Winnipeg also receives drainagefrom southeastern and eastern Manitoba, parts of north-western Ontario and the eastern Interlake. The WinnipegRiver forms the major source of inflow to the lake fromthe east. It drains an area of about 150,000 km2, extend-ing eastward into northwestern Ontario almost to LakeSuperior and southward into Minnesota. Outflow fromthe lake occurs into the Nelson River, which forms one ofa series of large river systems, including the Hayes,Churchill and Seal, which carry run-off from northern andcentral Manitoba into Hudson Bay.

Drainage and surface water flow patterns have beenextensively modified within southern Manitoba over thepast hundred years. Major hydroelectric dams have beenconstructed on the Saskatchewan and Winnipeg Riversystems and numerous smaller dams have been built onmost other river systems to regulate water levels and cre-ate reservoirs. Drainage of marshes and swamps hasoccurred to improve or develop agricultural land. A net-work of drains has been constructed to minimize floodingand to rapidly remove excessive amounts of rainfall orsnowmelt from agricultural land. In northern Manitoba,hydroelectric dam construction and water diversion havebeen carried out on the Churchill and Nelson River sys-tems.

1.1.3 Climate

Manitoba’s climate is continental, characterized bylarge seasonal variations in temperature and precipita-tion. The mean annual temperature varies from 3.3°C inparts of the south to -7.3°C in the far north. Winters arecold with January mean temperatures varying from -18°Cin the south to -28°C in the far north. July is the warmestmonth with mean temperatures varying from 20°C in thesouth to 12°C in the far north.

Average annual precipitation ranges from a high ofapproximately 600 mm in the southeastern corner of the

Figure 3. Mean annual precipitation in millimetres,1980.(Environment Canada, 1982).

Figure 4. Mean annual potential evapotranspiration in mil-limetres, 1931 - 1960. (Agriculture Canada, 1976).

4 NHRI Contribution No. CS-93017 March,1995

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province to about 400 mm in northern Manitoba (Figure3). About two-thirds of annual precipitation falls from Mayto October, generally as showers and intense thunder-showers. Annual snowfall ranges from 120 cm in thesouth to 170 cm in the north. Evapotranspiration is rela-tively high in the south, exceeding 450 mm, but declinesto less than 300 mm in the north (Figure 4).

1.2 BEDROCK GEOLOGY

Bedrock units in Manitoba consist of sedimentaryrocks found in two large depositional basins occupyingthe southwestern and northeastern parts of the province,and a large area of Precambrian igneous and metamor-phic rocks which occupies most of northern Manitoba andstretches south and east to the Ontario border (Figure 5).

toward the depositional centre of the basin located within

Sediments in the northern basin, known as theHudson Bay Basin (HBB), consist of Paleozoic carbon-ates with minor argillaceous and clastic rocks. Thesebedrock units dip gently northeastward at 2 to 7 m/km

Hudson Bay, attaining a maximum thickness of about1800 m (Sanford et al., 1968).

Bedrock in the southcentral and southwestern partsof Manitoba consists of Paleozoic, Mesozoic andCenozoic rocks that form the eastern edge of theWestern Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Paleozoicrocks are primarily carbonates with minor clastics andevaporites while Mesozoic rocks are dominantly shaleswith lesser amounts of sandstones, carbonates andevaporites. Paleozoic rocks in this basin dip gentlytoward the southwest at 2 to 10 m/km with the dipincreasing toward the southwest. Mesozoic rocks areflatter lying, dipping at 1 to 3 m/km toward the southwest.Cenozoic rocks are found only in the Turtle Mountainarea and dip gently toward the south. The bedrock geol-ogy within the WCSB is summarized in Table 1 .

Precambrian rocks form the bedrock throughout mostof northern and eastern Manitoba. Rocks belong to the

granitic and gneissic rock types.Churchill and Superior Provinces and consist primarily of

LEGENDERA

CENOZOIC

i PERIOD

~ 7 TERTIARY

MAJOR ROCK TYPES

SHALE, SANDSTONE,

MESOZOIC

i - 1 SILTSTONE

ISHALE, MINOR

1 fi CRETACEOUS SANDSTONE, AND

TONE,

/ GYPSUWANHYDRITE

j4DOLOSTONE,

DEVONIAN LIMESTONE, SHALE,

IEVAPORITES

PALEOZOIC ‘3 SILURIAN

I---

DOLOSTONE, SHALE

DOLOSTONE,2 ORDOVICIAN LIMESTONE. SHALE,

BASAL SANDSTONE

PRECAMBRIAN 1IGNEOUS ANDMETAMORPHICCRYSTALLINE ROCKS

-I

Figure 5. Generalized bedrock geology of Manitoba.

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Red dolomitic shale

. cerbonate equiler.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .v?6&3iwre aquifers

f and inter-reef

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..7.7.7. z.. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Table 1.. Geological formations and hydrostratigraphic units in the WCSB of Manitoba, (Adapted from Simpson et al., 1987.)

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1.3 SURFICIAL GEOLOGY

The bedrock surface throughout most of Manitoba iscovered by overburden of varying thickness consistingmainly of glacial tills, proglacial lacustrine sediments andshallow marine deposits. The thickest overburden isfound in the Manitoba Upland where bedrock is typicallycovered by 20 to 40 m of glacial till, outwash, and lacus-trine deposits; however thicknesses in this area rangefrom less than 10 m northeast of Turtle Mountain to morethan 120 m in some bedrock channels and 250 m in theDuck Mountain area.

Drift thickness in the Manitoba Lowland is quite vari-able. Overburden (primarily glacial till) thickness is lessthan 10 m throughout large parts of the western andnorthern areas of the Lowland but is generally somewhatgreater near the Manitoba Escarpment. Drift thicknessincreases to more than 100 m southwest of LakeManitoba and near the Manitoba-U.S.A. border wherethick deltaic and glaciolacustrine deposits are found over-lying the tills.

Bedrock in the Hudson Bay Lowland is covered byup to 30 m of till and shallow marine and non-marinedeposits. The thickness of glacial and lacustrine sedi-ments overlying the Precambrian Shield is variable butgenerally thin with bedrock outcrop being common inmany areas. Where thick glacial moraine deposits werelaid down, overburden thickness locally exceeds 100 m.

1.4 HYDROSTRATlGRAPHlC UNITS

The bedrock and surficial deposits of Manitoba canbe divided into a series of hydrostratigraphic units.Maxey (1964) defined hydrostratigraphic units as “bodiesof rock with considerable lateral extent that compose ageologic framework for a reasonably distinct hydrologicsystem”. The divisions that will be used in this paper areshown on Table 1 . This table presents a modified ver-sion of the terminology proposed by Simpson et al.(1987) for southern and central Manitoba. Sedimentaryrocks of the HBB, although not specifically shown in thetable, form a northern extension of the basal clastic andcarbonate-evaporite units.

Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks formthe basal hydrostratigraphic unit. Groundwater flow inthese rock types is predominantly through fractures. Bulkrock permeabilities are low although local permeabilitiesmay be quite high in fracture zones. The rocks are gener-ally relatively insoluble.

In the WCSB, the Precambrian basement is overlainby Cambrian and Ordovician sandstones and shales.

These rocks are referred to as the basal clastic hydros-tratigraphic unit. The sandstone aquifers in these forma-tions are separated from the overlying, predominantlycarbonate rocks by an upper shale that appears to act asa very effective aquitard throughout the southern part ofthe basin. In the northern part of the basin, the basalclastic unit consists primarily of sandstones and theupper shale may be missing. In this area the basal clas-tic unit is considered to form part of the overlying carbon-ate-evaporite hydrostratigraphic unit.

In the HBB a thin silica sandstone (and shale?) unit isfound at the base of the Paleozoic succession. Thesestrata are included as part of the overlying carbonate-evaporite unit.

The basal clastic unit is overlain by a thick sequenceof Paleozoic carbonates with minor shales, sandstonesand evaporites in both the WCSB and the HBB. Simpsonet al. (1987) referred to these rocks as the carbonate-evaporite hydrostratigraphic unit. In the WCSB they sub-divided this unit into two zones: the basal zone composedof formations that outcrop to the east and north of theoverlying Mesozoic rocks and the upper zone composedof formations that subcrop beneath Mesozoic rocks.

Simpson et al. (1987) proposed that the Mesozoicand Cenozoic sediments overlying the carbonate-evapor-ite unit be considered a single hydrostratigraphic unit,which they termed the upper clastic unit. This is also theclassification system used in Saskatchewan (Pupp et al.,1991). This terminology has been retained in this report;however, it should be recognized that while this unit, inthe large sense, forms a regional aquitard, in Manitobathese sediments also contain a number of distinct stratathat form widespread aquifers. These include the lime-stones of the Jurassic Reston and Melita Formations, thesandstones of the Swan River Formation, the fracturedshales of the Odanah Member of the Pierre Shale andthe sandstones of the Cretaceous Boissevain andPaleocene Turtle Mountain Formations. The argillaceoussediments separating each of these aquifers are regard-ed as aquitards.

Unconsolidated preglacial and Quaternary sedimentsin many areas of Manitoba also contain significantaquifers. The separation of these aquifers from oneanother prevents the sediments from being considered asingle hydrostratigraphic unit under the definition given byMaxey (1964); however, for convenience the unconsoli-dated preglacial and Quaternary sediments found overly-ing bedrock will be termed the overburden unit. Thesesediments include many sand or sand and gravelaquifers lying within, underlying, or overlying less perme-able tills or clays. Most of these aquifers have limited

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areal distribution although some surficial sands may 1.5.1 Precambrian Igneous and Metamorphicextend for tens of kilometres as distinct geological units. Rocks

In the following sections the physical hydrogeologyand hydrogeochemistry of the hydrostratigraphic units willbe discussed within each of the three major physiograph-ic units of the province. As well, each of the aquifers iden-tified in the upper clastic unit of the Western GlaciatedPlains physiographic region will be discussed in somedetail.

1.5 PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD PHYSIOGRAPHICREGION

The Precambrian Shield physiographic region occu-pies much of northern, central and southeasternManitoba (Figure 1). This area is generally sparsely pop-ulated and possesses an abundance of surface waterresources. Consequently the demand for groundwater islow and, except for the southeastern part of the region,little is known about the distribution of aquifers, their yieldor water quality. Within this region, groundwater suppliesare available from Precambrian crystalline igneous andmetamorphic rocks and from sand and gravel units in theoverlying Quaternary sediments. Discussion in thisreport will deal primarily with southeastern Manitoba butreference will be made to other parts of the Shield whereinformation warrants.

The hydraulic conductivity of unfractured crystallineigneous and metamorphic rocks is typically very low, inthe range of 10-9 m/s to 10-14 m/s or less (Brace, 1980 ).The porosity of these rocks is also very small, generallyless than 2% (Freeze and Cherry, 1979). Most ground-water movement occurs through secondary permeabilityfeatures consisting of joints, shears, or faults. The distri-bution of these features in the subsurface is very difficultto predict. Studies have indicated that large variations inthe frequency of secondary features should be expectedon both a local and a regional scale. The permeability ofindividual features may also show marked variations overshort distances (Davison and Kozak, 1988). Snow(1970) and others (see review by Trainer, 1988) haveindicated that the frequency and permeability of fracturesdecline with depth. The zone of active groundwater cir-culation is generally thought to be confined to the upper60 to 150 m of bedrock where joints are more commonand tend to be more open. More recent work has indicat-ed that significant zones of secondary permeability maypersist to depths well in excess of a kilometre (Trainer,1988; Farvolden et al., 1988).

Hydrogeological studies of portions of the southeast-ern part of the region have been undertaken by severalprovincial and federal agencies. The Manitoba WaterResources Branch published a series of maps showinggroundwater conditions and quality within parts of thearea (Little, 1980; Betcher, 1985, 1986a). Rutulis (1979,1982) discussed the hydrogeology of the Beausejour andLac du Bonnet areas and Charron (1974) mapped thephysical and geochemical hydrogeology of surficialaquifers lying west of the Winnipeg and WhitemouthRivers. Lebedin (1978) carried out a test drilling programin the Beausejour area and identified several widespreadsand and gravel aquifers. A study of the distribution andsources of uranium in groundwater in a part of this areawas presented by Betcher et al. (1988). Atomic Energyof Canada Limited (AECL) is currently carrying out anintensive research effort to examine groundwater condi-tions within a portion of a granitic batholith east of theTown of Lac du Bonnet (Davison, 1984). This research isbeing undertaken as a component of their overall pro-gram of assessing the potential for deep disposal of highlevel radioactive wastes in igneous rocks. The ManitobaWater Services Board has also carried out a considerableamount of test drilling, local aquifer evaluation and watersupply well installation for provincial parks in this area.

Detailed studies by AECL in southeastern Manitobaand northwestern Ontario have shown that many of theclassical concepts of groundwater flow system develop-ment are applicable to Precambrian terraines, with modi-fications to incorporate the influence of structural featuresforming high permeability boundaries. The water table inthese terrains has been found to form a subdued replicaof the‘surface topography (Farvolden et al., 1988; Thorneand Gascoyne, 1993). Water table mounds and down-ward directed hydraulic head gradients have beenmapped beneath bedrock knolls indicating groundwaterrecharge in upland areas, likely dominated by direct infil-tration of rainfall and snowmelt into exposed fractures(Thorne and Gascoyne, 1993). Discharge occurs intoadjacent, usually sediment or water filled, depressionswhere upward head gradients have been measured andflowing artesian conditions locally encountered.Recharge rates are very low; Thorne and Gascoyne(1993) estimate recharge to the granitic bedrock to beless than 5 mm/yr at a research site near Lac du Bonnetin southeastern Manitoba.

Major sub-vertical and sub-horizontal structural fea-tures, which may have permeabilities many orders ofmagnitude higher than the surrounding rock mass, exertstrong controls on groundwater movement and the extentof flow system development (Farvolden et al., 1988;Davison, 1984). Generally however, Canadian studies

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have found fresh groundwater indicative of active ground-water flow, to depths of about 150 m. Salinity typicallyincreases rapidly below this depth, indicating that ground-water movement and fluid exchange with the near-sur-face environment has become extremely sluggish.

Groundwater development from Precambrian rocks isquite limited in Manitoba, a consequence of the smalldemand for groundwater in this region and the uncertain-ty, low yield and considerable expense of drilling in

igneous and metamorphic rocks. Sand/gravel aquifersprovide a less expensive source for development of watersupplies, where they are present. Most groundwaterdevelopment from the Precambrian rock unit has takenplace in cottage areas of southeastern Manitoba whereQuaternary sand and gravel aquifers are sparsely distrib-uted. Several hundred wells have been completed intothe unit in this area. Reported well yields have rangedfrom “dry” holes to more than 14 L/s. A review of waterwell records for 196 wells in this area showed 53%reported yields less than 0.2 L/s and 85% reported yieldsbelow 1.0 L/s. Eleven per cent of the wells had reportedyields in excess of 1.5 L/s. Specific capacities as high as5.4 L/s/m have been reported but most specific capacitiesranged from 0.01 to 0.001 L/s/m. Water producingzones were commonly found at depths in excess of 60 mand not infrequently at depths 100 m or more below thebedrock surface.

Groundwaters in igneous and metamorphic rock ter-rains generally consist of solutions of low total dissolvedsolids, developed by incongruent dissolution of alumi-nosilicate minerals. Sodium, calcium, magnesium andbicarbonate typically form the dominant dissolved con-stituents while chloride and sulfate tend to be found atlow concentrations (Freeze and Cherry, 1979). Mostanalyses on file with Manitoba Water Resources werecarried out on samples collected in the southeastern partof the province as part of a study of the occurrence ofuranium in groundwaters in this area (Betcher et al.,1988). Somewhat surprisingly, the total dissolved solids(TDS) content of most of these groundwaters was quitehigh, averaging 1045 mg/L with some analyses showingseveral thousand mg/L. The dominant groundwater typewas calcium-magnesium-sodium-bicarbonate-sulfate.(1)

Betcher et al. (1988) proposed that this unusual ground-water quality reflected the influence of recharge watershaving first undergone substantial geochemical develop-ment in clayey surficial deposits overlying the bedrock.Very few analyses are available for water samples from

(1) Groundwater geochemical types, as given in this report, includeall anions or cations which comprise 20% or more of total equiva-lent anion or cation composition. Anions and cations are listed indecreasing percent equivalent order.

Precambrian rock wells completed in other parts of theprovince.

Detailed studies undertaken by AECL near Lac duBonnet have found a complex pattern of fresh groundwa-ters overlying saline groundwater at depths greater thanseveral hundred metres. Fresh groundwaters are Na -HCO3 or Ca - HCO3 types where recharge has occurredin exposed bedrock areas but Ca - Mg - HCO3 - SO4 typewhere bedrock is overlain by lacustrine clays (Davison,1984). The origin of the high salinity found at depths isnot well understood but, in this area at least, may reflectthe intrusion of saline groundwater from Paleozoic sedi-ments lying to the west or, perhaps, remnant marinewaters from ancient inland seas that covered parts ofManitoba in the past (Gascoyne et al., 1989). A few shal-lower wells near the Winnipeg River have been found tocontain similar groundwater quality to that found at depthby AECL, perhaps indicating upwelling of these watersnear major groundwater discharge areas.

1.5.2 Sand and Gravel Aquifers

Precambrian bedrock is overlain in most areas byQuaternary deposits consisting of glacial tills, glaciolacus-trine clays, silts and sands, emerged marine deposits andorganics (Manitoba Mineral Resources Division, 1981).The thickness of these deposits is highly variable, rang-ing from extensive areas where bedrock outcrops arecommon to areas where glacial moraines and outwashdeposits in excess of 100 m thick are found. An interest-ing feature of these Quaternary deposits is the wide-spread occurrence of glaciolacustrine and glaciomarineclays that were deposited in Lake Agassiz and the TyrrellSea. These clays overlie bedrock or glacial tills throughmuch of the Precambrian Shield in the province andundoubtedly exert a considerable influence on rechargeto, and water quality in, the underlying aquifers.

While the groundwater potential within surficialdeposits over much of the Shield remains largely unex-plored, a good understanding of the distribution ofaquifers in Quaternary deposits in southeastern Manitobahas been developed and can serve as a model forgroundwater exploration in other parts of this physio-graphic region. Widely distributed sand and gravelaquifers associated with a series of upland moraines andglaciofluvial deposits (Teller and Fenton, 1980) havebeen mapped in this area (Betcher, 1985; Lebedin, 1978;Charron, 1974). Sand and gravel thicknesses in excessof 30 m have been reported locally. These aquifers formthe primary source of rural and community water supplyin this area. Well yields locally exceed 5 L/s and theregional aquifer capacity may be substantial. A ground-

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water supply investigation near the Village of Piney forinstance indicated a safe yield in excess of 190 x 106 L/yrfrom a sand and gravel aquifer found at depths from 23-53 m (KGS Group, 1993). Groundwater quality in theseaquifers is generally excellent with TDS concentrationstypically from 300 mg/L to 500 mg/L.

Outside areas of extensive sand and gravel aquifersassociated with moraine and outwash complexes, surfi-cial aquifers in other parts of southeastern Manitoba tendto be scattered and local in nature with little potential forsubstantial yields. Thin sand and gravel deposits arefound in some areas at the till/bedrock contact, particular-ly in valley infill deposits. Inter-till sand and gravelaquifers are also found locally where thicker till depositshave been laid down. Some outwash sands and gravels,have also been developed for water supplies. In someareas large diameter bored wells have been completed inlacustrine silts and fractured clays where other aquifersare not present. Yields from most of these wells are verysmall, suitable only for individual dwellings. Water qualitytends to be excellent in sand and gravel aquifers thatreceive direct recharge from rain or snow melt but TDSconcentrations may exceed 1000 mg/L in deeper aquifersoverlain by lacustrine clays.

1.6 HUDSON BAY LOWLAND PHYSIOGRAPHICREGION

This region, bordering the southwestern shores ofHudson Bay, is underlain by bedrock consisting of asequence of carbonate-dominated Paleozoic sedimentsoverlying a thin basal sandstone that rests directly onPrecambrian crystalline basement. Bedrock is overlainby a sequence of pre-Pleistocene, Pleistocene andrecent unconsolidated sediments which locally mayexceed 100 m in total thickness. In most areas,Pleistocene tills and outwash deposits are covered with athin mantle of clays, silts, and sands laid down in LakeAgassiz and, near Hudson Bay, the Tyrrell Sea whichcovered much of the region following withdrawal of theWisconsinan ice sheets. The area lies within the zone ofdiscontinuous permafrost; much of the land surface con-sists of muskeg, bogs and swamps.

In this region, bedrock can be divided into twohydrostratigraphic units: the basal Precambrian igneousand metamorphic rock unit and the overlying carbonate-evaporite unit. The limited information available on thelithology of the basal sandstone in this region indicatesthat, regionally, it is likely hydraulically connected to theoverlying carbonate rocks and therefore has been includ-ed as part of this unit.

There has been no water well development in thePrecambrian rock unit in the Hudson Bay Lowland region.The hydrogeology of this unit is undoubtedly similar to thedescription given in Section 1.5.1, although the geochem-ical type and distribution of groundwater quality may dif-fer. The following discussion of bedrock aquifers will belimited to the carbonate-evaporite unit.

1.6.1 Carbonate-Evaporite Unit

The carbonate-evaporite unit consists of limestonesand dolostones with minor shale and sandstone ofOrdovician through Devonian age. Sediments dip gentlyto the northeast at 2 to 7 m/km with a maximum onshorethickness of 884 m (Manitoba Mineral ResourcesDivision, 1979). Due to the sparse population and lowlevel of development within this region, there has beenvery little exploration for, or development of, groundwater.Consequently, little information is available on the hydro-geology of this aquifer unit although it is expected to havesimilar physical properties to the carbonate-evaporite unitfound in southern Manitoba (see Section 1.7.1.2).

Groundwater movement occurs principally through anextensive network of discontinuities consisting of joints,bedding planes, and solution features. The density andinterconnection of discontinuities exhibits considerablespatial variability, both laterally and vertically. In thoseareas or strata where the development of solution fea-tures and solution-enlarged joints or bedding planes hasbeen most pronounced, very high bulk-rock hydraulicconductivities may be present and the carbonates willform a productive aquifer. Conversely, where massivesparsely jointed sediments are found, the bulk-rockhydraulic conductivity may be very low and the unit willfunction locally as an aquitard.

The only parts of the region where exploration hasprovided a good local understanding of the carbonate-evaporite unit have been sites where exploration for ordevelopment of hydroelectric dams has been undertaken.Over the past several years Manitoba Hydro has gath-ered a considerable amount of information on the hydro-geology of the Silurian and Ordovician portions of thisunit near the site of the proposed Conawapa generatingstation on the Nelson River, about 100 km upstream ofHudson Bay. Extensive test drilling has been undertakento define the local geology and the type and distributionof secondary features in these carbonates. Water pres-sure tests using single and double packer arrangementshave been conducted in numerous test holes and pump-ing tests have been carried out at several locations aspart of water supply development for construction campand potential town sites. The following description of the

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hydrogeology of this site has been taken from severalinternal Manitoba Hydro memoranda kindly supplied by J.Ellis, Exploration Department, Manitoba Hydro.

The carbonate-evaporite unit at the Conawapa site isoverlain by 30 to 80 m of overburden consisting ofpreglacial gravels and sands, glacial tills with some sandand gravel and postglacial silts and clays. Bedrock con-sists of 35 to 60 m of limestones and dolostones overly-ing a thin argillaceous sandstone that rests directly on

weathered Precambrian basement. Static water levels inthe bedrock unit at the site lie a few metres above thebedrock surface and slope very gently toward the NelsonRiver. Water levels in the aquifer respond to water levelchanges in the river.

Water pressure testing indicates variable but general-ly good to excellent hydraulic conductivities in the carbon-ate rock section. Intervals several metres in length isolat-ed with double packers typically show hydraulic conduc-tivities from 1O-3 to 5x10-3 cm/s with values exceeding 10-2

cm/s in some zones. The lower 10 m or so of the carbon-ate section at the site appears to have a consistentlylower hydraulic conductivity. Pumping tests carried outon the aquifer at rates from 5.6 to 31.5 L/s provide bulk-rock hydraulic conductivity values ranging from 1x10-3

cm/s to 2.4x10-3 cm/s. Storativity values ranged from5x10-4 to 2x10-3.

Groundwater quality at the site reflects primary geo-chemical development in a carbonate-rich environment atlow temperature (for a comprehensive discussion of thistopic, refer to Freeze and Cherry, 1979, pages 261 to268). Groundwaters are slightly alkaline calcium-magne-sium-bicarbonate type with TDS concentrations from 400to 450 mg/L. Sulfate concentrations are generally lessthan 60 mg/L. Sodium and chloride generally occur atlow concentrations; however, groundwaters with elevatedsodium and chloride concentrations have been found insome holes. The TDS concentrations of some of thesesamples exceed 1,300 mg/L. Elevated sodium and chlo-ride concentrations likely reflect an influence from themarine waters of the Tyrrell Sea which invaded this iso-statically depressed region about 8,000 years BP. Asimilar groundwater quality has been found atShamattawa (see Figure 1 for location) where individualwells completed into the carbonate-evaporite unit providethe water supply for the community. Chloride concentra-tions range from 44-59 mg/L and sodium concentrationsexceed 100 mg/L in this area. Some wells in the commu-nity also produce flammable gas (S. Cook, HealthCanada, personal communication).

1.6.2 Sand and Gravel Aquifers

The authors are not aware of any studies of thegroundwater supply potential of overburden sand andgravel aquifers undertaken in the Hudson Bay physio-graphic region. Undoubtedly, inter-till and intra-till out-wash and other sand and gravel aquifers are widely dis-tributed in the region as in other glaciated parts of theprovince. The potential for water supply from these unitsis unknown. Water quality in some aquifers may beaffected by remnant salinization as discussed above.

1.7 WESTERN GLACIATED PLAINSPHYSIOGRAPHIC REGION

This region encompasses most of southern and cen-tral Manitoba, excluding only the southeastern part of theprovince and the area east of Lake Winnipeg (Figure 1).Bedrock consists of Paleozoic carbonates and minorshales and sandstones overlying Precambrian basementthroughout the eastern part of the region and Mesozoicand Cenozoic shales with minor sandstones, carbonatesand evaporites overlying Paleozoic rocks throughout thewestern part of the region (Figure 5). A cross-sectionalong the Manitoba-U.S.A. border showing hydrostrati-graphic units within the WCSB is given in Figure 6.Bedrock is overlain by a variable thickness of Quaternarydeposits ranging from broad areas of thin overburden inthe Interlake region and parts of southcentral Manitoba toareas where overburden thicknesses exceed 100 m inthe southwestern and southcentral uplands. Glacial tillsform the dominant overburden material but significantareas of glaciolacustrine clays, silts, and sands are alsofound in the region. Considerable development ofgroundwater resources has taken place, providing a goodbase of information on groundwater occurrence and qual-ity in both bedrock and overburden aquifers.

1.7.1 Bedrock Aquifers

1.7.1.1 Basal Clastic Unit

The basal clastic unit consists of sandstones andshales of the Winnipeg and Deadwood Formations. TheWinnipeg Formation is a marine silica sandstone andshale sequence that directly overlies the weathered andpeneplaned Precambrian bedrock surface throughout theManitoba portion of the WCSB, excluding the extremesouthwestern corner of the province where it is underlainby glauconitic sandstones and shales of the CambrianDeadwood Formation. The remainder of the discussionof this unit will consider only the Winnipeg Formationaquifer; the Deadwood Formation has very limited distrib-ution in the province and has no potential for potablegroundwater development.

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GENERALIZED HYDROSTRATIGRAPHY

Predominantly low-permeability shales

1C Porous sandstone Low-permeability shale and evaporiteinterbeds in carbonate strata

Figure 6. Geologic cross-section along Manitoba-U.S.A. border. Vertical exaggeration approximately 50:1 (modified fromSimpson et al., 1987).

The Winnipeg Formation consists of a sequence ofinterlayered shales and variably cemented, very fine tocoarse grained, silica sandstones. The thickness of theformation ranges from about 30 to 60 m in the southernpart of the province but thins to less than 5 m along thenorthern edge of the WCSB (Figure 7). Sandstone formsthe dominant lithology in the northern and central parts ofthe Basin where the total sandstone thickness exceeds30 m in places. (McCabe, 1978, Figures 12 and 14).Farther south the number and thickness of sandstonebeds generally decline and shales predominate, particu-larly in the upper half of the formation. Total sandstonethickness is less than 6 m in parts of southcentralManitoba.

The “Carman sand” forms an anomalous thickeningof the sandstone section in the upper WinnipegFormation in a portion of southern Manitoba. This east-west trending body of uniform, well sorted, clean sand-stone stretches from the outcrop area westward forapproximately 150 km (Figure 7). The thickness of theCarman sand exceeds 20 m throughout much of this areaand forms a valuable fresh water aquifer east of the RedRiver.

The Winnipeg Formation transitions conformably intothe overlying carbonate-evaporite unit. The transition ismarked by shales of varying thickness which become thinand arenaceous in the northern parts of the Basin. Insoutheastern Manitoba and the southern Interlakegroundwater investigations have shown that this uppershale acts as an effective aquitard. Groundwater quality

LIMIT OF WINNIPEG

Figure 7. Isopach of the Winnipeg Formation Aquifer. Theshaded area shows the extent of the Caman Sandbody (after McCabe, 1978).

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and hydraulic heads in sandstones underlying this shaleare distinctly different from heads and water quality in theoverlying carbonates (Betcher, 1986b).

Groundwater Flow Systems

The equivalent fresh water potentiometric surfaceand expected regional groundwater flow directions in theWinnipeg Formation in the southern and central parts ofthe WCSB were presented by Betcher (1986b) and areshown in Figure 8. Groundwater movement is predomi-nantly from west to east with discharge apparently occur-ring in the outcrop area beneath Lake Winnipeg. A largearea of anomalously high head is found in extreme south-western Manitoba, creating a local northerly componentto groundwater movement in this area. The cause of thisanomalous head is not well understood. Fresh waterrecharge to the aquifer occurs in southeastern Manitobawhere the outcrop area underlies a series of uplandmoraines. Groundwater movement is to the west andnorthwest from this recharge area. Westward movingrecharge is eventually deflected northward along a fresh

water-saline water boundary (Figure 9) and migratestoward Lake Winnipeg. Discharge from this southeasternflow system occurs into overlying sediments along part ofthe subcrop area immediately south of Lake Winnipegand has also been observed where deep paleo-channelfeatures in the overlying carbonate-evaporite unit havebeen eroded through the upper shales of the WinnipegFormation. Groundwater flow and recharge/dischargepatterns are not well understood in the northern part ofthe WCSB.

Regional Hydrogeochemistry

Figure 9 shows the distribution of total dissolvedsolids in groundwaters in the Winnipeg Formation aquifer.Sodium-chloride type brines (TDS >100 g/L) are found inthe aquifer in southwestern and southcentral Manitobawhile saline and brackish groundwaters extend into thewestern Interlake region and as far east as the outcroparea south of Lake Winnipeg. Fresh groundwaters areconfined to the northern part of the basin, the easternInterlake region and parts of southeastern Manitoba.

_*- EQUI-POINT-WATER HEAD(m)

_ FLOWDIRECTION

Figure 8. Equivalent fresh water head and regionalgroundwater flow in Winnipeg

ISOCON OF TOTAL‘so, DISSOLVED SOLIDS (@‘l

LIMIT OF WINNIPEG

Figure 9. Total dissolved solids of Winnipeg Formationgroundwaters (g/L).

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The hydrogeochemistry of fresh groundwaters in theaquifer shows considerable variation. In the lnteriakearea, groundwaters are typically very soft sodium-mixedanion type with TDS values from 1000-1300 mg/L.Chloride concentrations range from 300-500 mg/L andsulfate from 200-300 mg/L. The pH of these groundwa-ters normally exceeds 8.2 and pH values exceeding 9.0are not uncommon. Many wells vigorously effervescenitrogen gas. Stable isotope analyses of water samplesconsistently provide oxygen-18 values from -20 to -24‰,

indicating that these groundwaters were recharged duringa much colder climatic period than currently exists insouthern Manitoba.(the oxygen-l 8 value of modernrecharge in this area is approximately -12 to -15‰). Themost depleted oxygen-18 values are comparable toresults obtained from pore waters extracted from the mid-dle portions of thick Lake Agassiz clay deposits in south-ern Manitoba and northern North Dakota (Remenda,1993). These values are thought to represent the iso-topic signature of Lake Agassiz waters and, consequent-ly, the mean oxygen-18 composition of precipitation dur-ing the late Pleistocene (Remenda, 1993). Fresh ground-waters currently found in the Winnipeg Formation in theeastern Interlake are therefore believed to have beenrecharged into the aquifer along the outcrop area duringthe late Pleistocene or early Holocene. This rechargelikely displaced pre-existing saline fluids in the aquifer.Residual saline fluids provide the source for elevatedsodium and chloride concentrations found in the ground-waters today. The present west to east regional move-ment of water in the Winnipeg Formation aquifer in theInterlake is flushing these fresh waters from the aquifer ata rate of approximately 1 m/yr (Betcher, 1986b).

In southeastern Manitoba, isotopically light freshgroundwaters with similar geochemistry to the Interlakegroundwaters discussed above are found bordering thefresh water-brackish water boundary (Figure 9). To theeast, these groundwaters rapidly give way to isotopicallymodern mixed anion-bicarbonate type groundwaters withTDS values from 400 to 600 mg/L, typical of groundwa-ters found in the carbonate-rich Quaternary depositsoverlying the aquifer recharge area. Recharge takingplace in Recent times along the outcrop area hasadvanced northward and westward, displacing pre-exist-ing saline groundwaters and a narrow zone of latePleistocene recharge. Betcher (1986b) has estimatedthe rate of northward advance of the fresh water-brackishwater boundary to be about 10 m/yr. It is not known if thewater quality boundary continues to advance to the west.

Hydraulic Properties and Well Yields

Reported yields from wells completed into theWinnipeg Formation aquifer range from 0.2 L/s to 10 L/s.

In most cases only a portion of the total available sand-stone thickness had been utilized; potential yields in mostdeveloped areas of the aquifer probably exceed 1 L/s.Well yields will depend on the thickness of sandstoneunits present, grain size distribution of the sandstones,the degree of cementing and, possibly, the extent of frac-turing. Most sandstone units have been cemented tosome degree by kaolinitic clays, carbonates or iron-oxides. Fracturing has been observed in sandstone out-crops on Black Island in Lake Winnipeg where the forma-tion has been mined for silica sand. The senior authorhas also encountered high yield situations when drillingtest holes into the aquifer which are most reasonablyexplained by assuming that fractures were intersected inthe sandstone beds.

Betcher (1986b) reported the results of pumping testscarried out in 20 wells in the eastern Interlake and south-eastern parts of the province which penetrated the fullthickness of the aquifer. Transmissivity values rangedfrom 5.2x10-5 m2/s to 3.6x10-2 m2/s with most results inthe 10-4 to 10-5 m2/s range. The hydraulic conductivity ofsandstone units ranged from 1.1x10-3 m/s to 3.2x10-6 m/swith 16 of 20 values between 10-4 and 10-6 m/s.

Groundwater Use

The Winnipeg Formation aquifer is currently used asa source of domestic water supply in southeasternManitoba and along the western shore of Lake Winnipeg.In southeastern Manitoba an estimated eight hundredwells have been drilled into the aquifer, most in the areaof naturally “soft” groundwaters bordering the fresh water-saline water front. These soft groundwaters are a desir-able commodity since other aquifers in the area containvery hard waters which require softening. Well comple-tion generally consists of drilling 3 m to 6 m into the firstsandstone horizon and installing well screens or leavingthe well as an open hole. Completion through the fullsandstone thickness would increase the yield of mostwells. Unscreened wells are subject to caving and mayproduce silt or fine sand.

Most wells drilled into the Winnipeg Formation aquiferhave been completed as open holes through the bedrocksection, interconnecting the Winnipeg Formation aquiferwith the overlying carbonate-evaporite unit. This hasallowed a continuous exchange of fluids of differing qual-ity between the two aquifers, resulting in substantial lossof groundwater from the Winnipeg Formation. This mayeventually result in significant water quality changes inthe aquifer. This will be discussed later in this paper.

The Winnipeg Formation is also used for disposal ofwater softener backwash water at a Manitoba Hydro AC-DC converter station about 25 km northwest of Winnipeg.

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Approximately 9,000 m3 of fluid with a TDS of approxi-mately 21,000 mg/L is injected annually into a single dis-posal well completed into the Winnipeg Formation.Natural formation waters in the aquifer at this location aresodium-chloride type brines with a TDS of approximately113,000 mg/L (Betcher, 1984).

1.7.1.2 Carbonate-Evaporite Unit

The most extensive aquifer system in the province isthe carbonate-evaporite unit of the Western GlaciatedPlains region, stretching throughout the Manitoba portionof the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (see Figures5 and 6). The unit consists of a gently dipping layeredsequence of dolostones and limestones with minorshales and evapori tes of Ordovician throughMississippian age. The entire sequence is generallyregarded as a single hydrostratigraphic unit; however, thehydraulic interconnection between strata is often poorlyunderstood and in many areas it may be more appropri-ate to consider the unit as a series of aquifers separatedby aquitards.

The carbonate-evaporite unit directly overlies theWinnipeg Formation aquifer and is in turn overlain insouthwestern Manitoba by thick shales, sandstones andevaporites of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age which form theupper clastic unit of Simpson et al. (1987). In this paperwe will concentrate our discussion on the hydrogeologyof that portion of the carbonate-evaporite unit lying eastand north of the erosional edge of the overlying upperclastic unit. This is locally referred to as the carbonaterock aquifer, a terminology that will be maintained in thisdiscussion. Where the carbonate-evaporite unit is over-lain by Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments, groundwatersin the unit are saline or brines and offer no potable waterdevelopment potential.

Groundwater movement through the carbonate sedi-ments occurs primarily through secondary features suchas joints, bedding planes, and solution conduits. The car-bonates are typically well lithified by compaction andcementation. Intergranular porosities generally fall in therange of 5-7% (Bannatyne, 1988) but visual examinationindicates these pore spaces are not well interconnectedin most rock units. The primary hydraulic conductivity ofthese carbonates is likely very low and intergranularwater flow not a significant factor contributing to mostwater well yields. This is indicated by the occasional“dry” hole drilled into the carbonate rock aquifer. McCabe(1963) states that fracture permeability also controls fluidmovement in the deep oil producing regions of the aquifersystem in southwestern Manitoba.

Ford and Williams (1989) have shown that carbonatesystems with low primary porosity and permeability suchas found in Manitoba will tend to undergo dissolutionprocesses that will lead to the development of networksof discrete, very permeable solution conduits. These net-works form the primary pathways for groundwater move-ment in most carbonate aquifers. The presence of suchsolution-enhanced permeability and its significant influ-ence on groundwater flow in the carbonate rock aquiferhas been recognized by hydrogeologists and water welldrillers working in Manitoba for many years. Duringdrilling in the aquifer, groundwater production occurs fromdiscrete intervals separated by zones where no notice-able additional groundwater influx occurs. Productionzones are often associated with bit drops, loss of drillingmud or air and the absence of cuttings return, indicatingthe presence of open cavities in the rock. These featuresare well documented by mechanical caliper logs (Figure10). In some areas, very high groundwater productionrates have been found associated with sand and gravel

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FORMATION

-/GAMMA LOG Jw 1 CALIPER LOGH

20 c.p.s. rscz* REPORTED PRODUCTION ZONE

Figure 10. Caliper log of test hole into carbonate-evaporiteunit showing fracture development in upper RedRiver Formation. This unit has been found to be azone of enhanced permeability throughout the out-crop area in southern Manitoba.

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infilled caverns or zones where the bedrock has beenhighly weathered to a “pumice-like” appearance. Thesesubsurface observations, the presence in many areas oflarge springs, and the documentation of caves and otherkarst features in exposed bedrock areas (Anonymous,1992) indicate that groundwater movement in the carbon-ate rock aquifer in Manitoba occurs primarily through awell-interconnected network of secondary and dissolu-tion-enhanced features. An excellent discussion of theinfluence of fractures and karst features on the move-ment of groundwaters in the carbonate rocks near GrandRapids was given by Grice (1964). Many of these fea-tures were likely formed during periods of intense dissolu-tion in the geologic past when marine episodes werereplaced by terrigenous conditions. Simpson et al.(1987) discuss major erosional episodes in Manitoba atthe end of the Paleozoic Era and during the earlyCretaceous. Jurassic and Cretaceous Swan River sedi-ments form infill materials in paleo-sinkholes and channelkarst features in many parts of southern and centralManitoba, attesting to the ancient origin of many of thesesolution features.

Studies are on-going in Manitoba to evaluate whetherthe distribution of secondary permeability features can beplaced into a stratigraphic or spatial framework. This isimportant, for instance, in attempting to define targetstratigraphic horizons for development of high capacitywells. Experience to date indicates that in most areaswhere the carbonate rock aquifer forms the uppermostbedrock unit, the upper few metres to perhaps the upper10 m of bedrock is frequently heavily fractured and verypermeable (Render, 1970). This fracturing is presumablythe result of glacial stresses or near-surface solutionenhancement of existing joint networks. Below this zoneof enhanced permeability, most wells will intersect furtherfractures. In some areas where intensive drilling hasoccurred (for instance in subdivisions or small communi-ties) water well records indicate these deeper fracturesare intersected at roughly similar depths in most wells,indicating either a stratigraphic-fracture relationship orindividual permeable features that have rather large arealextents. In other areas of similar size, however, no con-sistency has been found in the depth to significant water-producing fractures.

The Fort Garry Member of the Red River Formationhas been shown to be a stratigraphic interval ofenhanced permeability throughout the outcrop area ofsouthern Manitoba with possible extension to the north-em part of the WCSB in Manitoba and even to beds ofsimilar age in the HBB (Betcher et al., 1992; R. Bezys,Manitoba Energy and Mines, personal communication).It has been proposed that the enhanced permeability inthis interval resulted from dissolution features developing

during and subsequent to removal of anhydrite beds orig-inally deposited in the Member (Betcher et al., 1992);alternately, it may be a result of karst development duringa period of emergence shortly after deposition (Noiseux,1992).

Groundwater Flow Systems

The potentiometric surface of the carbonate rockaquifer has been mapped as part of specific local studies(Grice, 1964, Baracos et al., 1983, UMA Engineering Ltd.and Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, 1993) and, in someareas, on a 1:250,000 scale (Render, 1965; Betcher,1986a). However, no map of regional flow within theentire aquifer has, as yet, been compiled. Some regionalresults for Manitoba were presented by Downey (1984)as part of his work modeling groundwater movement inthe Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer in the northern GreatPlains and southern prair ies of Manitoba andSaskatchewan. However, some of Downey’s assump-tions about boundary conditions in Manitoba were incor-rect. A qualitative interpretation of regional groundwaterflow in the aquifer is presented in Figure 11. This inter-

LEGEND

E - SALINE- G R O U N D W A T E R

7

w -

FRESH-. GROUNDWATER

GROUNDWATERFLOW

Figure 11. Regional groundwater movement in carbonate -evaporite unit.

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pretation is based on general theory of groundwater flowsystem development, available potentiometric surfacemaps for parts of the aquifer, the locations of springs,regional groundwater geochemistry, topography, andstudies by Downey (1984).

The general features of this map include an east tonortheast flow of saline groundwaters and brines in theaquifer system in southwestern Manitoba, a fresh ground-water mound in the Interlake area with flow occurring out-ward from the mound, and a northwesterly flow of freshgroundwater in southeastern Manitoba where rechargeoccurs along the eastern edge of the WCSB.

Southwestern Manitoba lies along the eastern andnorthern edge of a continental scale groundwater flowsystem developed in the Paleozoic sediments of theWilliston Basin. This system has been discussed byDowney (1984). Recharge to the continental systemoccurs where Paleozoic sediments have been upliftedand brought near the ground surface in parts of Montana,Wyoming and South Dakota. Recharge waters movedown dip in an east to northeasterly direction toward thecenter of the basin before eventually rising out of thebasin toward discharge areas in eastern North Dakotaand southern Manitoba. Groundwater salinity increasesalong the flow path of this continental system, particularlywhere groundwaters are forced to move past a large areaof quasi-stationary brine occupying the deepest portion ofthe Williston Basin (Downey, 1984).

Discharge areas for the continental system inManitoba occur along a northwest to southeast trendingbelt lying to the east of the Mesozoic shale cover (Figure11). Groundwaters in the carbonate rock aquifer arebrackish to saline in this area although, locally, pockets offresh water may be found overlying saline waters at shal-low depth. A series of salt water springs with TDS valuesfrom 30,000 to 60,000 mg/L are found along the westernshore of Lake Winnipegosis and the Red Deer River justwest of Dawson Bay (Stephenson, 1973; McKillop et al.,1992). Subsurface springs have also been noted alongthe western edge of Dawson Bay (B . McKillop , ManitobaMuseum of Man and Nature, personal communication).Van Everdingen (1971) provided evidence for diffuseseepage of saline groundwaters into Lakes Manitoba andWinnipegosis. Areas of saline soils found south of LakeManitoba are also thought to reflect upward discharges ofsaline groundwaters in these areas (R. Eilers, ManitobaLand Resource Unit, personal communication).

The central portion of the Interlake forms a majorarea of fresh water recharge to the carbonate aquifer. Inmuch of this area only a thin covering of clay or till rests

on the bedrock aquifer and outcrop is common. Arecharge mound has developed between the lakes withregional groundwater flow occurring both easterly towardLake Winnipeg and westerly towards Lakes Manitobaand Winnipegosis. Discharge occurs as seepage andspring flow into numerous streams, marshes and lakesfound throughout the Interlake. Where large solutionconduits outcrop in these areas, spring discharge ratescan be very high, from 10 L/s to perhaps 100 L/s. Theextent of direct regional discharge to the major lakes inthe Manitoba Lowland is unknown. Recent geophysicalsurveys of Lake Winnipeg for instance indicate thatbedrock aquifers beneath the lake are overlain by thickclayey deposits which will inhibit the upward discharge ofgroundwaters.

In southeastern Manitoba piezometric surface maps(Render, 1965 ; Betcher , 1986a) indicate recharge to theaquifer taking place along its outcrop edge and where it isover lain by a ser ies of th ick glacial uplands.Groundwater movement is primarily to the west andnorthwest. The drawdown cones developed by ground-water withdrawal within the City of Winnipeg and theTown of Selkirk and by groundwater discharge to the RedRiver Floodway exert a considerable local influence ongroundwater movement (Render, 1970, 1986). Naturaldischarge occurs as spring flow into local streams andapparently as seepage into the Red River, particularlynorth of Winnipeg.

Hydraulic Properties and Well Yields

On a local scale, the hydraulic properties of the car-bonate rock aquifer vary markedly both laterally and verti-cally, a consequence of the movement of groundwaterthrough a complex and highly heterogenous fracture net-work. This is reflected in considerable variability in wellyield. Commonly, the greatest yields are associated withpermeable features intersected in the upper few metresof bedrock where glacial action or the presence of pale-okarst features have created large open fractures.Where these features were not intercepted or have beencased off, in some areas wells may provide only smallyields even if drilled to considerable depth. In mostareas, however, water-producing features are found indiscrete intervals throughout the depth of the aquifer.

Reported transmissivity values range from near zeroin a few isolated wells to values exceeding 12,000 m2/d.In the Winnipeg area, for instance, transmissivities rangefrom less than 100 m2/d (a few “dry” wells have beendrilled) to more than 2500 m2/d (Baracos et al., 1983).Well yields show a similar variability with yields from lessthan 0.2 L/s to more than 120 L/s being reported. Most

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10 cm diameter domestic wells in the aquifer will yield 0.5L/s to 5 L/s while wells developed for high capacitymunicipal or industrial purposes will generally yield 5 L/sto 10+ L/s.

Regional Hydrogeochemistry

Saline groundwaters and brines associated with thecontinental flow system are found throughout southwest-ern and southcentral Manitoba. The transition to freshgroundwaters occurs rather abruptly to the east and northof this salt water area with the major physiographicdepressions of southern and westcentral Manitoba form-ing the boundary between saline and fresh waters.Figure 12 shows the generalized distribution of ground-water quality in the upper few tens of metres of the unit.

Brines and saline groundwaters found in the aquiferexhibit a rather uniform composition. The brines aresodium-chloride type waters with TDS concentrations upto 320,000 mg/L. Sodium comprises greater than 80% of

ISOCON OF TOTALDISSOLVED SOLIDS (g/L)

. SALINE SPRING

/@%A LIMIT OF CARBONATE -

LEGEND

Figure 12. Groundwater quality in carbonate - evaporite unit.

total cation equivalents with calcium then magnesiumbeing the other significant cations. Chloride comprisesmore than 95% of all anion equivalents with relativelyminor concentrations of sulfate. Saline groundwaterswith a TDS exceeding 50,000 mg/L show a similar geo-chemistry although sulfate may form up to 15% of totalanion equivalents. At lesser TDS values, saline ground-waters may contain up to 40% calcium + magnesiumcation equivalents per million and up to 40% sulfateequivalents per million.

Fresh groundwaters are typically calcium-magne-sium-bicarbonate types with TDS values from 400 mg/Lto 800 mg/L. Sulfate and sodium locally form a signifi-cant percentage of the dissolved components, particularlyin two areas of elevated TDS lying to the east and north-east of Winnipeg (Figure 12). This may reflect localrecharge of groundwater from the overlying clays andtills. The transition to saline groundwater near the freshwater-saline water boundary is marked by an increase inTDS due primarily to increases in sodium, chloride andsulfate. The average composition of fresh groundwatersin the aquifer system is indicated in Table 2 based onmore than 500 analyses.

-

PARAMETER

CalciumMagnesiumSodiumPotassiumChlorideSulfateBicarbonateCarbonatePHTemperature (ºC)SilicaNitrate + Nitrite (N)BoronTDSFLog (Pco2)SI cal

SI dol

Sl qyp

1CONCENTRATION

(mg/L)

61.655.653.2

6.546.487.9

415.22.0

7.716.8

11.30.930.29553

0.45-2.23+0.18+0.50-1.73

Table 2. Geochemisty of fresh groundwaters in thecarbonate - evaporite unit.

1

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Groundwater Use

The carbonate aquifer is a major source of ground-water supply for municipal, industrial, rural residential,and agricultural uses throughout a large portion of south-eastern and central Manitoba. Virtually all communitiesoverlying the fresh water portion of this aquifer rely par-tially or exclusively on it for their water supplies. Theaquifer also provides groundwater for many industrial andcommercial heating/cooling systems, concentrated in the

Winnipeg area. It is estimated that more than 20,000wells are currently withdrawing water from this aquifer.

1.7.1.3 Jurassic Aquifers

Limestones, dolostones, and sandstones in Jurassicrocks form a series of aquifers at potentially exploitabledepth in an outcrop area stretching northwest to south-east through southcentral Manitoba from just north ofDauphin Lake to the Manitoba-U.S.A. border near Gretna(Figure 5). Very little exploration of these aquifers hasbeen undertaken. The available information indicatesthat water quality is generally brackish to saline. A fewwells completed in Jurassic rocks have produced freshwater southeast of Dauphin Lake. Some wells have alsobeen completed into Jurassic aquifers in a large channelinfill feature south of Winnipeg (Figure 5). Water qualityin these wells is not known but is likely brackish; a num-ber of these wells have produced significant amounts ofmethane gas. West of the outcrop area groundwaterquality in Jurassic rocks is thought to be saline.

1.7.1.4 Swan River Formation Aquifer

The Swan River Formation is a marine to non-marinesequence of variably cemented silica sandstones, silt-stones, shales, and occasional lignite. The thickness ofthe formation ranges up to 120 m. The deposits areextremely heterogeneous; the thickness, stratigraphicdistribution, cementing, and grain size distribution ofsandstone units show rapid spatial variation in manyareas. The extent of Swan River sediments is shown inFigure 13.

West of the Manitoba Escarpment, the Swan RiverFormation is overlain by up to several hundred metres ofCretaceous shale with an expected very low hydraulicconductivity (Davis, 1988; Neuzil, 1994). The shale actsas an effective aquitard separating the Swan RiverFormation aquifer from the overlying Odanah shale andQuaternary aquifers. The formation is underlain by up toseveral hundred metres of Jurassic shales, evaporites,carbonates and sandstones in southern and central areasand by Devonian carbonates in northern areas. Jurassic

Figure 13. Distribution of the Swan River Formation.

sediments are thought to form an effective underlyingaquitard in the southern and central areas, but the degreeof interconnection of the Swan River Formation aquiferwith Devonian rocks forming part of the carbonate-evap-orite unit in the northern areas is uncertain. Likely, thesandstone units are separated from the underlying car-bonates by some thickness of shale.

Under these conditions the Swan River Formation isthought to act as a “drain” for the overlying and underly-ing low-permeability sediments, channeling leakage fromthese deposits to eventual discharge areas along andeast of the Manitoba Escarpment (Rutulis, 1984). Therate of recharge to the aquifer is likely very low. No sig-nificant groundwater discharge features, such as springs,have been noted in outcrop areas.

Hydraulic Properties and Well Yields

Rutulis (1984) and Betcher (1992) have summarizedthe hydraulic properties and yields of wells drilled into theSwan River Formation along the northern part of theManitoba Escarpment. Well yields and transmissivity val-

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ues are dependent on the thickness, grain size distribu-tion, and cementing of the sandstone units, all of whichare highly variable in this formation. Based on informa-tion supplied in water well logs reported to the province,well yields in this area range from 0.08 L/s to 7.55 L/swith a mean of 1.5 L/s. Many wells were completedthrough only a portion of the total sandstone thickness soreported well yields are conservative. Where pumpingtest information is available, transmissivity values haveranged from 0.5 m2/d to 108 m2/d.

Regional Hydrogeochemistry

West of the Manitoba Escarpment and where the out-crop area is overlain by thick unconsolidated sediments,groundwaters are saline with TDS concentrations rangingfrom 5,000 mg/L to about 50,000 mg/L. These groundwa-ters are sodium-chloride-bicarbonate type waters. Cationexchange has reduced calcium and magnesium concen-trations to less than 10 mg/L in parts of this area.

Recharge-discharge conditions and, subsequently,groundwater quality are more complex in the outcroparea east of the Manitoba Escarpment. Wide variationsin groundwater salinity are found over relatively short dis-tances with TDS changes of thousands to tens of thou-sands of milligrams per litre observed over distances ofonly a few kilometres laterally or a few tens of metres ver-tically. This reflects the extreme heterogeneity of the for-mation. Fresh groundwaters vary from calcium-magne-sium-bicarbonate types, thought to occur in areas whererecharge is relatively rapid and direct, to sodium-mixedanion types with very low hardness, thought to be olderwaters that have undergone extensive geochemical alter-ation. Stable isotope work in the Swan River area lendssome support to this interpretation.

Groundwater Use

There are probably several hundred wells used fordomestic and farm water supplies completed into theSwan River Formation within the outcrop area. The TDSin some of these wells exceeds 3,000 mg/L. Three com-munities with populations less than 1,200 also use theaquifer for municipal water supply. One of these commu-nities treats the groundwater using the reverse osmosisprocess. In 1987 five wells were completed into theSwan River Formation in southwestern Manitoba to pro-vided groundwater for pressure maintenance in oil fields.The combined capacity of these wells was approximately20 L/s (R. Dubreuil, Manitoba Energy and Mines, person-al communication).

1.7.1.5 Odanah Shale Aquifer

The Odanah shale is a hard, brittle, siliceous, greyshale forming the middle member of the Pierre Shale. Inoutcrop the shales are fissile and heavily fractured, andcontain joints and bedding planes that are open andtransmissive to water. Near Turtle Mountain, the OdanahMember is overlain by the Coulter Member which con-sists of soft bentonitic siltstone and shale. Elsewhere,the Odanah Member is overlain by a variable thickness ofglacial and postglacial deposits. The Odanah Member isunderlain by up to several hundred metres of soft creta-ceous shales with minor limestone and bentonite. Theseunderlying materials are expected to have very low per-meabilities. The maximum thickness of the OdanahMember is about 240 m (Bannatyne, 1970, Figure 31) butthe bedrock surface has been heavily eroded and thethickness can show significant local variation. The distri-bution of Odanah shale is shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14. Distribution of the Odanah Shale Aquifer (afterBannatyne, 1970).

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No studies have been carried out of large scalegroundwater movement in the Odanah aquifer inManitoba. Likely, there are significant local to intermedi-ate flow systems developed in areas where overburdenthickness is not great. Intermediate to regional systemsmay exist in areas with thick overburden cover.Recharge is likely by upward and downward leakage ofwater from the surrounding low permeability materialswith local focused discharge in outcrop areas. However,the authors are not aware of any significant areas of con-

centrated discharge from the aquifer.

Hydraulic Properties and Well Yields

Groundwater movement in the Odanah shales is pri-marily through fractures, joints and bedding plane open-ings. The “shale” itself is composed mainly of amorphoussilica with a fairly low content of clay minerals(Bannatyne, 1970). The permeability of the intergranularmedium is likely very low. Fracturing in the shalesappears to be irregular and unpredictable. Well drillerstypically describe the aquifer as interlayered hard andsoft shales with water production occurring from the hardlayers. Yields from wells are typically less than 0.5 L/sbut yields in excess of 1 L/s are not uncommon. A fewwells with yields exceeding 10 L/s have been reported.Most domestic wells in the shale are simply deepeneduntil a usable yield is obtained or until the underlying soft,unfractured Millwood shale is encountered.

Regional Hydrogeochemistry

No summary studies of groundwater quality in theOdanah shale aquifer have been carried out in Manitobabut numerous analyses have been presented in regionalstudies carried out by Manitoba Water Resources(Betcher, 1992, 1989, 1983; Sie and Little, 1976).Groundwater quality is quite variable with reported TDSconcentrations from about 500 mg/L to about 9,000 mg/L.Water quality appears to decline with depth in manyareas. Groundwater geochemical types are also quitevariable, reflecting the complexity of the recharge/dis-charge conditions. The most common groundwater typesare sodium-calcium-sulfate-chloride-bicarbonate and cal-cium-magnesium-sodium-bicarbonate-sulfate.

Groundwater Use

The Odanah shale is an important local aquiferthrough much of southwestern and southcentralManitoba, particularly in those areas where sand andgravel aquifers are not present or are poor producers.Several thousand wells currently draw water from theshale with 100 to 200 additional wells being completed

into the aquifer each year. Five communities are current-ly served by wells completed into the shale.

1.7.1.6 Boissevain and Turtle MountainFormation Aquifers

The Boissevain and Turtle Mountain Formations arefound in an 1,100 km2 upland area known as TurtleMountain (Figure 1) bordering the United States in south-western Manitoba. This upland rises as much as 240 mabove the surrounding prairie level. The BoissevainFormation consists of sand with minor clay, silt, andsandstone and has an average thickness of about 30 m(Bamburak, 1978). It overlies the bentonitic siltstonesand shales of the Coulter Member of the Pierre Shale.The Boissevain Formation is overlain by the PaleoceneTurtle Mountain Formation which consists of bentonitic,carbonaceous sands, silts and clays with minor lignite(Bamburak, 1978). The maximum known thickness ofthe Turtle Mountain Formation is 158 m. The formationhas been deeply incised with numerous channels. Bothformations are overlain by glacial and postglacial sedi-ments up to 120 m thick.

No formal studies of groundwater flow in the TurtleMountain and Boissevain Formations have been under-taken. Rutulis (1978) indicates that recharge occurs inthe upland areas to the south with discharge to the out-crop area along the northern part of Turtle Mountain.Rutulis appears to have based his analysis on generaltopographic trends rather than actual measurements ofgroundwater heads in wells. Western Ground-WaterConsultants Ltd. (1982) suggest a southward regionalflow of groundwater may in fact be occurring.

Hydraulic Properties and Well Yields

The sand and sandstone units in the formations pro-vide permeable zones for well development but yields aregenerally low. Western Ground-Water Consultants Ltd.(1982) reported that yields up to 5.5 L/s are possible inthe coarser sands found along the northern extent of theformations, but elsewhere yields of only 0.2 L/s or lessare expected.

Regional Hydrogeochemistry

Groundwater quality is generally poor in these forma-tions with TDS concentrations typically ranging from1,000 mg/L to 2,400 mg/L. Groundwaters are sodium-calcium-magnesium-sulfate-bicarbonate types with sul-fate frequently exceeding the drinking water aestheticobjective of 500 mg/L (Health and Welfare Canada,1993). Sodium concentrations range from 100 mg/L to

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450 mg/L but chloride concentrations are generally lessthan 40 mg/L indicating a significant amount of geochem-ical modification of the groundwaters by cation exchange.

Groundwater Use

Well records indicate that perhaps 100-200 wellshave been completed into the Boissevain and TurtleMountain Formations in Manitoba. These formations areoverlain by significant thicknesses of overburden contain-ing widely distributed sand and gravel lenses that formthe main aquifers in the Turtle Mountain area.

1.7.2 Sand and Gravel Aquifers

Sand and gravel aquifers are widely distributed in theWestern Glaciated Plains region of Manitoba, occurring inPleistocene inter- and intra-till deposits, moraines, out-wash areas, as Pleistocene or pre-Pleistocene infills ofsome buried valleys, in glaciolacustrine beach and deltaicdeposits associated with Lake Agassiz, and in Recentalluvial sediments. A generalized map showing the distri-bution of sand and gravel aquifers in the WesternGlaciated Plains region is shown in Figure 15.

Inter- and intra-till sand and gravel deposits are foundextensively in many parts of the till plains of southernManitoba. These deposits are less common in the rela-tively thin till found in the Interlake region. Here sand andgravel are most commonly found at the bedrock-till inter-face. Few detailed studies have been done on any ofthese deposits to determine their extent and stratigraphicrelationship to surrounding materials. However, someindividual aquifers are known to extend over areas aslarge as 130 km2 (Little, 1973). In most cases though,these aquifers are expected to have limited areal extent.Some basic studies of the relationship between till stratig-raphy and the occurrence of sand and gravel aquifers areneeded in Manitoba to aid in predicting the occurrence ofthese bodies.

Sand and gravel deposits in glacial moraines, eskers,kames, and outwash materials form extensive aquifers insoutheastern Manitoba and locally in southwestern andsouthcentral Manitoba. These aquifers are generallyoverlain by thick glaciolacustrine clays in the southcentralpart of the province. A series of moraines and outwashdeposits, termed the Agassiz-Sandiland Upland (Tellerand Fenton, 1980), form an extensive series of sand andgravel aquifers in southeastern Manitoba, running north-south from Lake Winnipeg to the United States. Althoughthe exact dimensions of these aquifers have not beenfully defined, regional test drilling indicates large areas ofsand and gravel with considerable development potential

(Betcher, 1985; Lebedin, 1978). In southcentralManitoba a number of generally north-south orientedglaciolacustrine sand and gravel aquifers have beenmapped which form important (and in places sole) localsources of water for a number of communities. Theseinclude the Elie, Winkler and Miami aquifers (Render,1987).

Several buried valley aquifers have been mapped(Figure 15) in southwestern Manitoba although the fullextent of these aquifers has not generally been deter-mined. These aquifers are usually very heterogeneous,narrow and covered by thick deposits of till making themdifficult targets for exploration. However,where theyoccur they form important local aquifers.

A number of very large sand aquifers that formed aslacustrine, deltaic, or alluvial deposits in proglacial andpostglacial lakes and rivers are found in southcentral andsouthwestern Manitoba These include the AssiniboineDelta, Oak Lake, Glenora, and Almasippi sand aquifers.The largest of these aquifers is the Assiniboine Deltaaquifer, described by Render (1988). This unconfinedsand aquifer extends over an area of approximately 4000km2

and has an average saturated thickness of about 18m. It forms an important source of water for municipal,industrial, and agricultural uses. Current irrigation with-drawals exceed 6 x109 litres annually.

Groundwater Quality

Groundwater quality is generally excellent in sandand gravel aquifers having significant surface outcrop.Total dissolved solids concentrations, for instance, typi-cally range from 200 to 450 mg/L in the Oak Lake andAssiniboine Delta aquifers and in the extensive shallowsand and gravel aquifers in southeastern Manitoba.Groundwaters are calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type.Similar groundwater qualities are found in smaller, shal-low sand and gravel aquifers elsewhere in the provincealthough local conditions, such as saline groundwaters inunderlying sediments, may influence quality.

Groundwater quality in sand and gravel aquifers with-out significant outcrop tends to be higher in dissolvedsolids than similar aquifers with extensive outcrop. Thisresults from an influx of poorer quality water from the sur-rounding clays or tills or, in some cases, bedrock units.The mean TDS found in 165 analyses of groundwatersfrom inter- or intra-till aquifers in southwestern Manitoba,for instance, is 1,340 mg/L with the mean groundwatercomposition being a sodium-calcium-magnesium-sulfate-bicarbonate type. This reflects an influx of groundwaterfrom the surrounding Cretaceous shale-rich tills. In the

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NORTHERN EDGE OFCARBONATE - /EVAPORITE UNIT

“...

EzlND

LEGENDTHIN UNCONFINED SAND

THICK AND EXTENSIVE UNCONFINEDSAND AND GRAVEL

LENSES OF SAND AND GRAVEL

MAJOR BURIED SAND AND GRAVEL

ALLUVIAL AND GLACIOFLUVIALSAND AND GRAVEL

BURIED VALLEY CONTAININGSAND AND GRAVEL

AREAS WITH FEW SCATTEREDMINOR SAND AND GRAVELAQUIFERS

NO DATA

OF

1

Figure 15. Sand and gravel aquifers in the Western Glaciated Plains Region (modified after Rutulis, 1986).

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Interlake area, groundwaters in inter- or intra-till sand andgravel aquifers tend to be calcium-magnesium-bicarbon-ate types with a TDS less than 600 mg/L, reflecting theinflux of groundwater from the underlying bedrock aquiferor from the surrounding carbonate-rich tills.

In areas where the bedrock units contain salinegroundwater, sand and gravel aquifers in overlying sedi-ments may also contain groundwaters with high salinity.This is particularly the case where the carbonate aquifercontains saline groundwater west of Lakes Manitoba andWinnipegosis and west of the Red River in southernManitoba. Very shallow sand and gravel units in theseareas may contain fresh water but, with depth, groundwa-ters rapidly become saline and similar in quality to thatfound in the underlying bedrock units. In other regionsthe upper parts or recharge areas of sand and gravelaquifers may contain fresh water but groundwaters in thelower parts of these aquifers may become very saline.Render (1987) has described a classic example of thissituation in the Winkler aquifer in southcentral Manitoba.

Groundwater Use

Sand and gravel aquifers form the major sources ofgroundwater supply throughout most areas where thecarbonate aquifer is not present. Approximately 35% ofall wells drilled in the province are completed in sand andgravel. Statistics on total groundwater usage from theseaquifers have not been compiled but many rural commu-nities and industries and most farms in southwestern,southcentral and southeastern Manitoba rely on ground-water from sand and gravel aquifers. Some largeraquifers, particularly the Assiniboine Delta aquifer, arealso used for irrigation.

Since many of these aquifers form the sole source ofcommunity, industrial, or agricultural water supplies,determination of their safe yield is of considerable impor-tance. Manitoba Water Resources has undertakenaquifer capacity studies of several of these aquifers,including the Elie and Winkler aquifers which have shownwater quality deterioration due to overpumping.

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2. GROUNDWATER QUALITY CONCERNS

Groundwater forms an important source of water sup-ply in Manitoba, particularly outside the urban Winnipegarea.(2) Outside Winnipeg, groundwater provides the pri-mary source of water for municipal, residential, industrialand agricultural use. Of 290 community water supplies inthe province, 155 rely solely on groundwater and onecommunity (Selkirk) relies primarily on groundwater withsurface water providing a back-up water source. It isestimated that groundwater provided 90% of non-urbanwater supplies in the province in 1981 (Hess, 1986).Water quality concerns relate to both the natural qualityof groundwaters in the province and to anthropogeniccontamination.

2.1 NATURAL CONSTITUENTS

Most groundwaters in Manitoba exceed the 500 mg/Laesthetic objective for TDS given by Health and WelfareCanada (1993). The mean TDS of fresh groundwaters(TDS < 2,000 mg/L) in the carbonate rock aquifer, forinstance, is 780 mg/L and the mean TDS of groundwa-ters in buried sand and gravel aquifers in the till terrainesof southwestern Manitoba is 1,340 mg/L. These highTDS values are generally accompanied by hardness val-ues exceeding 200 mg/L and frequently exceeding 500mg/L, sulfate concentrations near or above the Healthand Welfare Canada (1993) aesthetic objective (AO)(2) of500 mg/L particularly in sand and gravel aquifers in thesouthwestern tills, or chloride concentrations near orabove the recommended AO of 250 mg/L. The high chlo-ride concentrations are generally found near the transi-tion from fresh to saline groundwaters.

Groundwaters having TDS concentrations less than500 mg/L are found in sand and gravel aquifers in thesoutheastern corner of Manitoba (Betcher, 1985), in theOak Lake and Assiniboine Delta surficial sand aquifers insouthwestern and southcentral Manitoba (F. Render, per-sonal communication) and locally in the carbonate rockaquifer. Elsewhere, low TDS groundwaters are foundlocally in shallow sand and gravel aquifers and in isolatedlocations in some bedrock aquifers.

Water quality problems associated with specific natu-rally occurring dissolved constituents have also beenfound locally in some aquifers in Manitoba. These will bediscussed below.

(2) The City of Winnipeg in which more than half the population ofManitoba lives currently obtains its water supply via an aqueductthat brings water by gravity flow from Shoal Lake near theManitoba-Ontario border. However, until 1918 the city was sup-plied by a series of wells completed in the carbonate rock aquifernorth of the city.

2.1.1 Uranium

Elevated concentrations of uranium have been foundin groundwaters from surficial and Precambrian rockaquifers in parts of southeastern Manitoba. A study byBetcher et al. (1988) found uranium concentrationsexceeding the 100 pg/L maximum acceptable concentra-tion (MAC)(3) established by Health and Welfare Canada(1993) in about one third of more than 100 samples col-lected from wells completed into the Precambrian rockaquifer in this area. Most of these wells had been drilledinto the granitic rocks of the Lac du Bonnet batholith.The uranium MAC was also frequently exceeded in sam-ples collected from seepage wells completed into frac-tured clays and tills.

Betcher et al. (1988) indicate two major sources foruranium found in groundwaters in this area: (1) uranifer-ous deposits found as fracture coatings in some parts ofthe Precambrian rock aquifer and (2) clays laid down asdeep water deposits in proglacial Lake Agassiz. Theexact nature of the source of uranium in the clays wasnot identified; however, it was speculated that desorptionof uranium was occurring from clay minerals and organ-ics found in the lacustrine deposits under conditionsfavourable for uranium solubility in groundwater (elevatedPco2, somewhat mineralized groundwater quality, highCO3). Since this study, uranium analyses have been car-ried out on numerous groundwater samples from theWinnipeg Formation, carbonate rock and Odanah Shaleaquifers (R. Betcher, unpublished data). Uranium con-centrations in groundwaters from these bedrock aquifershave generally been less than 10 pg/L.

2.1.2 Fluoride

Fluoride concentrations exceeding the 1.5 mg/L MACguideline are found in a number of areas (Figure 16).Fluoride concentrations of several milligrams per litre andoccasionally as high as 10 mg/L are found in freshgroundwaters in parts of the Swan River Formation alongthe eastern edge of the Manitoba Escarpment and theWinnipeg Formation along the western shore of LakeWinnipeg and south of the lake. In both areas, elevatedfluoride concentrations are found in naturally softenedgroundwaters with elevated pH values in silica sandstoneand shale formations. Fluoride concentrations of 2 to 7

(3) For brevity, Health and Welfare Canada (1993) will not be repeti-tively referenced when MAC & A0 guidelines are given.However, all guidelines refer to the limits established in this pub-lication. Manitoba has adopted the Health and Welfare Canadadrinking water guidelines as province water quality guidelines.

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mg/L are common in groundwaters in shattered andmetamorphosed Precambrian basement rocks in theGypsumville area (J. Rawluk, personal communication).High fluoride concentrations are also found occasionallyin groundwaters from Precambrian rocks in southeasternManitoba (one well had a fluoride concentration of 16mg/L) and in the carbonate rock aquifer between DauphinLake and Lake Manitoba and south of Winnipeg (Figure16). It is suspected that the high fluoride concentrationsin the carbonate rock aquifer are a result of influx ofgroundwater from the overlying Jurassic sediments inthese areas.

[T23 ZONE 2: Fluoride Conmntratlon:occasionally exceed 1.5 me/L ingroundwater from at least oneaquifer generally used for trash

L

Figure 16. Fluoride concentrations in groundwater insouthern Manitoba.

2.1.3 Boron

Boron concentrations exceeding the recommended 5mg/L MAC are found in groundwaters in the Winnipegand Swan River Formations, associated with high fluorideconcentrations. High boron concentrations have also

been found in some groundwaters in the Gypsumvillearea.

2.1.4 Arsenic

Arsenic concentrations exceeding the interim MAC of0.025 mg/L have been found locally in groundwaters fromsand and gravel aquifers near Portage la Prairie, NotreDame de Lourdes, Virden, Birtle, Russell and Winkler insouthcentral and southwestern Manitoba. Arsenic con-centrations between 0.001 and 0.025 mg/L have beenfound in samples from a number of other sand and gravelaquifers in southcentral and southwestern Manitoba.These sand and gravel aquifers have developed overCretaceous shale bedrock and contain a significantamount of shale in the aquifer material. A detailed studyof arsenic occurrence in a part of southeastern NorthDakota (Roberts et al., 1985) indicated that Cretaceousshales may form a source for arsenic in similar hydrogeo-logical environments. However, sampling of wells com-pleted in Cretaceous shales and shale-rich tills in south-western Manitoba failed to find anomalous concentrationsof arsenic. The source and geochemical conditions pro-ducing high arsenic concentrations in these aquifers inManitoba remains an interesting topic for furtherresearch.

2.1.5 Radium

As part of a study of uranium concentrations ingroundwater in southeastern Manitoba (Betcher et al.,1988), water samples from 105 wells were analyzed forradium-226. Three wells were found to have radium con-centrations exceeding the 1.0 Bq/L MAC (Beck andBrown, 1985). All three wells were completed intogranitic bedrock. Five other wells produced water withradium-226 concentrations of 0.5 to 0.9 Bq/L.

2.1.6 Iron/Manganese

Iron concentrations exceeding the 0.3 mg/L AO arevery common in Manitoba groundwaters. In the freshwater portion of the carbonate rock aquifer, for instance,the mean iron concentration in more than 600 analyseswas found to be 1.78 mg/L. Problems with high iron con-centrations are common in most aquifers in the province.

Excessive manganese concentrations are less com-mon. In the fresh water portion of the carbonate rockaquifer less than 12% of more than 600 analyses showmanganese concentrations greater than the 0.05 mg/LAO.

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2.1.7 Other Problems

Taste and odour problems are fairly common. Wherethese problems are not associated with contamination,the main sources of taste and odor appear to be high ironconcentrations or bacterial growth in the well.Complaints of hydrogen sulphide gas are common andare likely associated with the growth of sulphur reducingbacteria (Lehr et al., 1988). Many water well drillers donot use chlorinated drill water and do not routinely chlori-

nate new wells. This may be contributing to the spread ofiron bacteria. Highly coloured groundwaters associatedwith an excessive organic load are found in groundwaterssupplying the Town of Virden.

2.2 ANTHROPOGENIC CONCERNS

Water quality problems associated with anthropogencontaminant sources or resulting from groundwaterdevelopment are also found in some parts of Manitoba.Major groundwater contamination concerns from humanactivities relate to leaks and spills from petroleum storagefacilities, agricultural practices, particularly in light soilswith shallow underlying aquifers, waste disposal prac-tices, leakage from agricultural and municipal lagoons,saline water intrusion from over-development of freshgroundwater supplies, seepage from septic systems insensitive groundwater areas and bacterial contaminationrelated to well construction and maintenance practices.

2.2.1 Saline Water Intrusion

Groundwater quality problems have been experi-enced in several aquifers in southern Manitoba whereoverdevelopment has led to saline water invasion of freshwater portions of the aquifers. There is considerablepotential for an increasing number of saline water intru-sion problems given the existence of significant areaswith fresh water-saline water boundaries, either as verti-cal or lateral water quality transitions, and increasinggroundwater development pressures.

The two most notable areas where saline water intru-sion has occurred are in the Winkler and Elie aquifers. Inboth cases the aquifer consists of glacial sand and graveldeposits overlying bedrock units containing very salinegroundwater. Groundwater development in excess of therate of fresh water recharge to these aquifers has result-ed in upward movement of the saline water qualityboundary and deterioration of pumped water supplies(Render, 1987; J. Petsnik, personal communication).Efforts to develop artificial recharge schemes to supple-ment recharge to these aquifers have been halted due totrace levels of agricultural chemicals in the surfacewaters being considered as the sources of supply.

Lateral intrusion of saline groundwaters has occurredalong the fresh water - saline water boundary in the car-bonate rock aquifer south of Winnipeg. Dewatering forconstruction of the inlet structure for the Red RiverFloodway in the early 1960s resulted in local intrusion ofsaline water just south of the city. Although intrusionoccurred rapidly once dewatering commenced, the returnto the original fresh water quality following cessation ofdewatering is still taking place, almost three decadeslater. Local saline water intrusion may also haveoccurred in the Town of St. Adolphe about 20 km south ofWinnipeg as a result of short-term summer overpumpingin an area very near the water quality boundary. Thereare concerns that saline water intrusion into the freshwater portion of the aquifer along the water quality frontsouth of Winnipeg may become a more frequent local orperhaps a more general groundwater quality problem asfresh groundwater withdrawal from east of the boundaryincreases. Studies to define the recharge rate to thefresh water system and the effects of local and regionalgroundwater withdrawal on the position of the water qual-ity front are needed.

Concerns also exist that saline water intrusion intofresh water portions of the Winnipeg Formation aquifermay occur. Betcher (1986b) has indicated that ground-water outflow from the Winnipeg Formation aquifer intothe overlying carbonate rock aquifer through wells inter-connecting both aquifers in southeastern Manitoba likelyfar exceeds recharge rates to the formation. Loweredheads in the fresh water part of the Winnipeg Formationmay allow advance of saline water into portions of theaquifer currently containing fresh water.

Local saline water intrusion has occurred in parts ofsoutheastern Manitoba where fresh groundwater in thecarbonate aquifer is underlain by saline groundwater inthe Winnipeg Formation. Heads in the WinnipegFormation aquifer are locally up to several metres higherthan heads in the carbonate aquifer. Numerous wellshave been drilled as open holes through both aquifers inthese areas by well drillers searching for increased wel!yields, naturally soft groundwater and even oil. Theresulting outflow of saline water into the carbonateaquifer has, in many cases, resulted in contamination ofnearby fresh groundwater supplies. In one case an areaof approximately 10 km2 of the carbonate rock aquiferjust south of Winnipeg has experienced water qualitydegradation as a result of outflow from an improperlysealed oil exploration well drilled into the WinnipegFormation (F. Render, personal communication).

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2.2.2 Waste Disposal

Disposal of all types of wastes carries the potentialfor impacts on the quality of underlying groundwaters.The potential for impact depends on the geology andhydrogeology of the waste disposal site, the engineeringof the site, the types of wastes and surrounding ground-water use.

Most municipal waste disposal grounds in Manitobaare operated by local governments. A number of sites arealso operated in parks by provincial or federal govern-ments and by Indian reserves. A federal-provincial studycarried out in 1982 identified 760 active and inactivemunicipal waste disposal grounds. Of these, 94 wereidentified as being worthy of further study to evaluatewhether significant environmental effects had or couldresult from these operations. Thirty-eight of the 94 siteswere examined in some detail, including test drilling andgroundwater sampling at a few sites. Although many ofthese sites were found to be poorly located from a poten-tial groundwater contamination viewpoint, recognizablegroundwater contamination was found at only a smallnumber of sites and none was found to have produced asignificant environmental impact.

Manitoba is not a highly industrialized province but anumber of significant groundwater contaminations haveoccurred due to spills or improper disposal of industrialwastes. Contamination of the carbonate rock aquifer withthe solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) has occurred near the Town ofStony Mountain about 20 km north of Winnipeg (UMAEngineering Ltd., 1992). The area is characterized bygenerally thin deposits of clays and tills overlying lime-stones and dolostones of the Stony Mountain and RedRiver Formations. These carbonate rocks form the solesource of water supply in the area. Solvents have beendetected in groundwater underlying an area of approxi-mately 25 km2 with about 9 km2 of this area having TCEconcentrations exceeding the MAC of 50 f.rg/L. TCA con-centrations exceeding 40,000 pg/L have been detected inthe most heavily contaminated areas. Contaminantsentered the aquifer at a number of locations within theplant site over many years and have migrated to thesouth and east as two distinct contaminant plumes.Migration rates are estimated to be a few hundredmetres/year. Contaminants have migrated up to 7 kmfrom the industrial site, affecting the water quality in 37private wells. This contamination has forced the con-struction of a piped water system to service the affectedareas at a cost in excess of $800,000. The plant hassince modified their methods of handling solvents to pre-vent further losses to the environment. Following an

extensive investigation of the extent of contamination, apump and treat source control remediation program iscurrently being carried out.

In Winnipeg, soil and groundwater contamination byorganic chemicals has been found at two industrial sites.One is a former wood preservative plant that had operat-ed in the east end of the city from 1911 to 1976. Theplant used creosote containing polyaromatic hydrocar-bons (PAH) throughout its operating history and pen-tachlorophenol (PCP) mixed with light petroleum oil from1957 to 1976. These chemicals were found to havemigrated throughout the oxidized and fractured upper 6-8m of the lacustrine clays underlying the site. Smallamounts may also have moved through a few metres ofunderlying sparsely fractured unoxidized clay and into theglacial tills overlying the carbonate rock aquifer (Cherryand Smith, 1990). Groundwaters from several bedrockaquifer monitoring wells on site were found to containPAH and PCP with a PAH concentration of 76,000 ppbfound in one monitoring well sample. Cherry and Smith(1990) suggest that most of the contaminants found inthe aquifer were likely introduced via contaminated waterentering two runoff water disposal wells completed intothe aquifer in the 1950’s rather than having migrated intothe aquifer through the overlying sediments.

The second site is a former coal gassification plantlying near the Red River. Soil and overburden groundwa-ters have been found to be contaminated with a variety oforganic compounds to depths as great as 14.5 m (CM2HHill Engineering Ltd., 1994). It is unknown at the time ofwriting if contamination of the underlying carbonate rockaquifer has also occurred.

2.2.3 Underground Storage Tanks

Manitoba has experienced a long history of ground-water contamination from leakage of petroleum productsfrom underground storage tanks. Significant groundwatercontamination with petroleum products has been reportedin Brandon, Cypress River, Ashern, Birds Hill, Stonewall,Fisher Branch, Easterville and a host of other towns andvillages. The Villages of Fisher Branch and Ashern arecurrently considering municipal water systems to replaceexisting private wells due to extensive contaminationproblems with petroleum products.

Manitoba currently has legislation controlling installa-tion, operation and abandonment of above ground andbelow ground petroleum storage tanks. More stringentlegislation has recently been proposed, requiring thereplacement of most older underground tanks with eitherfibreglass or corrosion protected steel tankages.

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2.2.4 Lagoons and Septic Tanks

Due to the sensitivity of many shallow aquifers,Manitoba has experienced some local groundwater quali-ty deterioration from direct or indirect infiltration of lagoonand septic tank effluents. Little of this has been fully doc-umented. Impacts on groundwater quality in theAssiniboine Delta Aquifer due to seepage from unlinedmunicipal lagoons serving the Village of Glenboro andthe Town of Carberry were discussed by Rutulis (1985)

and Fitzgerald et al. (1994). A number of other lagoonsare known to “leak” to a significant degree (R. Rentz,Manitoba Environment, personal communication) but theeffects on nearby groundwaters have not been investigat-ed. Manitoba Environment’s policy for new lagoons callsfor at least one metre of liner material with a hydraulicconductivity of 10-7 cm/s or less.

Local groundwater contamination by infiltration ofseptic tank effluent has been documented in a number ofareas. Concern exists that extensive water qualityimpacts may occur in some sensitive groundwater areaswhere residential developments rely on individual wellsand septic tanks. Most contamination events investigat-ed to date seem to relate to well construction problems orseptic system malfunctions. However, high nitrate con-centrations have recently been recognized in many pri-vate wells in the Village of lnwood in the Interlake regionand the Village of Dawson Bay near Lake Winnipegosis.Leakages of septic tanks effluent into the shallow under-lying fractured carbonate-evaporite aquifer appears to bethe major source of nitrate problems in these communi-ties. Seepage from local feedlot operations may be asecondary source at Inwood.

2.2.5 Agricultural Activities

There is considerable evidence that agricultural activ-ities have resulted in some degree of impact on ground-water quality in many sensitive groundwater areas ofManitoba, although the impact in most cases is thought tobe local. Most research has focussed on the accumula-tion of nitrate-nitrogen in the soil zone and in underlyinggroundwaters resulting from storage and spreading offarm manures, application of commercial fertilizers andfeedlot operations [see Racz (1992) for a summary ofstudies carried out in the past and current research].Studies by Manitoba Agriculture since 1992 have foundsignificant accumulations of nitrates below the root zonebeneath a number of fields in southcentral Manitobaunder a variety of cropping and fertilizing conditions (J.Ewanek, Manitoba Agriculture, personal communication).Investigation was not extended into the saturated zone inthese studies but the findings indicate that groundwater

quality impacts can be expected under current agricultur-al practices in some areas. Although the authors are notaware of any studies in Manitoba, earthen agriculturallagoons are widely distributed and may represent a sig-nificant potential for seepage into underlying groundwa-ters in shallow aquifer areas.

Recently, nitrogen contamination of groundwatershas also been identified at some commercial fertilizerblending and distribution centres, resulting from long-termminor spills or accidents which cumulatively havereleased large amounts of nitrogen-rich fertilizers. In afew cases these sources have resulted in contaminationof local private wells. Large scale single event spills ofliquid fertilizer have also occurred at several commercialand farm storage facilities and have resulted in localgroundwater contamination.

In general, most agriculture related groundwaterquality problems have occurred in areas underlain bysandy overburden with shallow surficial aquifers.However, groundwaters containing high nitrate concen-trations have also been identified in parts of the Interlakearea and in southcentral Manitoba where fractured car-bonate and shale aquifers are overlain by thin covers ofglacial and postglacial materials. Water sampling inthese areas has indicated that nitrate contamination ofgroundwaters may locally extend to depths in excess of30 m.

A few studies have been carried out to determine ifpesticide application practices are resulting in impacts ongroundwater quality. A study within the Assiniboine Deltaaquifer (Buth et al., 1992) included sampling 26 irrigationwells and analysis of the samples for nitrate and a suiteof commonly used pesticides. Only one sample showeda trace of a pesticide, chlorothalonil, which was attributedto fungicide treatment applied through the irrigation sys-tem prior to sampling. Additional studies are planned inthis aquifer and in other sensitive groundwater areas ofthe province over the next few years.

Several cases of individual well contamination withpesticides resulting from improper loading or washing ofsprayers near wells have also been investigated by theprovince.

2.2.6 Bacterial Contamination

Bacterial contamination of groundwater supplies isquite common in Manitoba. The vast majority of prob-lems appear to be very local in nature and directly relatedto well construction and maintenance. For example, 68of 190 water samples taken from individual wells com-

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pleted into the carbonate rock aquifer in the Village ofFisher Branch in August of 1993 showed the presence ofcoliform bacteria in standard laboratory analyses. Mostof this contamination appears to have resulted from infil-tration of bacteria along the ungrouted annulus of wellcasings, by direct entrance of bacteria into improperlysealed buried wells or wells located in pits or through cor-rosion holes in the casing. Groundwater contaminationby movement of bacteria into aquifers from the near-sur-face without a well acting as conduit appears to be rare

although this may occur in the karst areas of the Interlakewhere bedrock exposures are common.

Most bacteria problems could likely be eliminated byproper well construction practices (installation and grout-ing of adequate lengths of casing, eliminating the use oflarge diameter well pits), locating wells up-gradient frompotential sources of contamination and proper well main-tenance.

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3. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT - LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS

3.1 WATER RESOURCES LEGISLATION

3.1.1 The Water Resources Administration Act

The Water Resources Administration Act gives theauthority and responsibility to the Water ResourcesBranch of the Department of Natural Resources foradministration and management of matters related towater under a number of Acts including The Water RightsAct and The Ground Water and Water Well Act. The

Water Resources Administration Act is primarily dedicat-ed to granting administrative authority for quantitativewater management in the areas of land drainage, floodprotection, and water supply.

3.1.2 The Water Rights Act

The Water Rights Act vests ownership of water in theCrown and requires licences for diversion and use ofwater for all but domestic withdrawals. Domestic use ofwater is defined as water obtained from a source otherthan a municipal or community water distribution systemat a rate of not more than 25,000 L/d for household andsanitary purposes, for the watering of lawns and gardens,and for the watering of livestock and poultry.

The Act applies equally to groundwater and surfacewater. Water is allocated, within sustainable limits, onessentially a first come - first served basis, unless the Actis applied within the terms of a management plan, pro-gram or policy, applied to a specific source, that requiresallocation in a different manner.

The Act also identifies priorities of use: 1) domestic2) municipal 3) agricultural 4) industrial 5) irrigation and6) other, which come into play in certain circumstances.Licences are issued for up to a maximum term of 20years, after which the holder of the expired licence mayapply for renewal. Licences have precedence accordingto the date of the original application.

3.1.3 The Ground Water and Water Well Act

The Ground Water and Water Well Act:

i) specifies all persons engaged in the business ofdrilling water wells in Manitoba must be licensedby the province;

ii) authorizes the inspection of wells and the equip-ment and records of water well contractors andwell owners;

iii) allows the Minister to direct that surveys ofgroundwater resources and studies of the con-

iv)

v)

vi)

servation, development and utilization of ground-water be undertaken;

authorizes the Minister to order control of flowingwells;

requires all reasonable precautions be taken toprevent groundwater contamination via wells;and

authorizes the Minister to establish regulationsrelated to the conservation, development andcontrol of groundwater resources and the drillingand operation of wells and the production ofgroundwaters there from.

Regulations established under this Act require that arecord be kept and report submitted to the province pro-viding information on the location, construction, testingand geologic and hydrogeologic conditions encounteredfor each well or test hole drilled. The yield of each wellmust also be tested and reported. The regulations alsorequire that dry or abandoned wells be sealed to preventthe vertical movement of water in the well. Manitoba hasnot established comprehensive regulations regarding wellconstruction but relies on the voluntary cooperation oflicenced water well contractors to ensure that wells areconstructed in an acceptable manner.

The Act does not apply to wells developed by anowner for obtaining a domestic water supply using hisown equipment. Records of shallow wells dug by handor using readily available equipment such as backhoesare, therefore, not normally reported to the province.

3.1.4 The Planning Act

This Act provides for the establishment of provincialland land use policies and for planning by local govern-ment authorities. The Planning Act supports both provin-cial and municipal planning control which directly or indi-rectly affects land use that, in turn, may impact ground-water supply. The Act specifically includes provision fordistrict planning and establishment of district boards,establishing municipal development plans, land usebylaws, subdivision control and enforcement powers.

3.1.5 The Municipal Act

The Municipal Act grants authority and jurisdiction tomunicipal governments for the establishment of municipalservices such as water supply and sewage collection andtreatment, utilities, and local improvements/districts. TheAct also provides for by-law development that can beused in a limited way to control land uses which mayaffect water supply or waste disposal problems.

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3.1.6 The Conservation Districts Act

The main purpose of this Act is to provide for conser-vation, control, and prudent use of resources includinggroundwater through the establishment of conservationdistricts and governing boards. The Act supports studyand investigation of a resource for the purpose of prepar-ing a resource management scheme and implementationof such a scheme.

3.1.7 The Manitoba Water Services Board Act

This Act gives the Board authority to assist municipal-ities and individuals with water supply and sewage treat-ment infrastructure development and operation.

3.1.8 The Department of Agriculture Act

This Act authorizes the Manitoba Water ServicesBoard to administer the Agri-Water program to assist indi-vidual farmers with their water needs.

3.2 WATER QUALITY LEGISLATION

3.2.1 The Environment Act

The Environment Act , former ly The CleanEnvironment Act, and its supporting regulations providecontrol measures for protecting environmental health andthe environment by limiting damage or degradation ofManitoba’s land, air and water with a focus on ecosystempreservation.

Under this Act:

i) a proposal must be filed with the Department ofEnvironment for all projects which are likely tohave significant effects on the environment.Proposals are subject to inter-departmentalreview and comment and are publicly registeredand advertised in order to provide the public withthe opportunity for comment and objection.Based on the comments received, the depart-ment may require further information, studies orplans to be undertaken or submitted by the pro-ponent, cause the C lean Env i ronmentCommission to hold public hearings, issue alicence to the proponent setting out terms andconditions of the licence, or refuse to issue alicence to the proponent;

ii) broad special powers are granted to the Ministeror designate to deal with environmental and envi-ronmental health emergencies. Broad powersare also provided to environment officers to enter

iii)

iv)

v)

vi)

vii)

onto properties to inspect or investigate situationswhere pollutants may be stored, produced or dis-charged to the environment or where there arereasonable grounds to believe that environmentaldamage is occurring;

orders may be issued to control site-specific situ-ations not covered by Environment Act licencesor regulations such as the discharge of contami-nants to water or soil, and disposal of petroleumcontaminated soil;

the Minister may designate specific areas as criti-cal or sensitive and prescribe limits or conditionson activities affecting those areas such assewage disposal, underground gasoline storagetank installation, or water well development;

the “Private Sewage Disposal, System andPrivies Regulation” specifies the registration,design and construction/installation of septictanks, septic fields, pit and pail privies and sul-lage pits. Amendments to the regulation havebeen proposed to provide more control;

the “Storage and Handling of Gasoline andAssociated Products Regulation” requires regis-tration of petroleum storage tanks, specifies tankand installation standards, requires daily invento-ry control, specifies conditions for leak testingwhen required, and specifies tank abandonmentprocedures. Presently, l i c e n s i n g o finstallers/removers, evaluation of site sensitivityand systematic tank replacement are not requiredby law although guidelines do exist. An amendedregulation has been proposed to address currentand future problems;

the “Waste Disposal Grounds Regulation” setsout site classification by population served, set-back distances from a variety of features, opera-tional requirements, and requirements for clo-sure. The regulation provides for engineeringevaluation of all proposed sites. For certaintypes of sites (usually class1, serving more than5,000 people) comprehensive assessment andlicencing is required which may include gas andgroundwater monitoring;

viii) the “Livestock Waste Regulation” requires permit-ting of all new, modified or expanded earthenstorages holding agricultural wastes. An engi-neer’s certificate is required for permitting, indi-cating that the storage has been constructed in amanner which meets the requirements set out inthe Regulation. The Regulation also requiresthat land storage of manure and the disposal ofmortalities be done in a manner which does not

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ix) many developments not covered specifically byregulation must be assessed by the Departmentof Environment and receive an operating licence.Examples of such developments include waste-water treatment plants, major water withdrawalprojects, and water injection projects.

3.2.2 The Public Health Act

pollute groundwater and that application of agri-cultural wastes be done such that the waste isutilized as a fertilizer. The rate of applicationmust not exceed expected crop utilization; and

Regulations under this Act provide for protection ofpublic health by regulating certain activities that may con-taminate potable groundwater supplies. These include:

i) the “Protection of Water Sources Regulation”which prohibits the discharge of a contaminantinto an underground water supply via a well.Orders may be issued by the medical officer ofhealth to desist and clean-up; and

ii) the “Water Supplies Regulation” which makesprovision for the proper construction of domesticwells to prevent contamination and for properabandonment of unused wells.

Under this regulation the Medical Officer of Healthmay direct remedial measures to repair or close a wellwhich produces unsafe water or through its location, con-struction or maintenance poses a threat of contaminatinga water supply.

3.2.3 The Pesticides and Fertilizer Control Act andThe Environment Act Regulation 94/88R -Pesticides.

These Acts and Regulation control the commercialsale and application of pesticides. Licences must beobtained for sale and application of pesticides excludingfertilizers and domestic class pesticides. Regulationsalso govern the storage, application conditions and dis-posal of pesticides and the equipment used in applica-tion. Insurance for public liability and drift damage isrequired by applicators.

3.2.4 The Dangerous Goods Handling andTransportation Act

This Act provides for the safe handling and trans-portation of a broad range of dangerous goods by adop-

tion of the federal “Transportation of Dangerous GoodsRegulation” which provides for the following:

i)

ii)

iii)

iv)

v)

vi)

registration and licensing of hazardous wastehaulers;

proper packaging and identification of products,substances and organisms based on classifica-tion criteria;

proper control and inventory of hazardous wastesvia a manifest system;

special power to Environment Officers to dealwith emergency situations;

reporting of spills to the provincial emergencyspill response team and local authorities and therequirement to dispose of hazardous wastes onlyat licenced facilities;

establishment of specific regulations for haz-ardous materials handling and disposal atlicenced hazardous waste facilities including the“PCB Storage Site Regulation” and “AnhydrousAmmonia Handling and Transport Regulation”.

The Act also provides powers to the director to issueorders for investigation and remediation of contaminatedsites and to contain spills or leaks of hazardous materi-als.

3.2.5 The Mines and Minerals Act and The Oil andGas Act

The Mines and Minerals Act contains a number ofprovisions either generally or specifically directed towardprotection of groundwaters. Part 6 sets out requirementsfor exploration drilling and abandonment of boreholes.These are further detailed by the “Drilling Regulation (MR63/92)”. Protection of groundwater is a consideration ofmine closure and reclamation, dealt with under Part 14 ofthe Act. The “Quarry Minerals Regulation (MR 65/92)”contains operational requirements governing wastewater drainage and groundwater protection in gravel pitsand quarries, including prohibition of facilities for perma-nent storages or handling of gasoline and associatedproducts. The Oil and Gas Act contains provisions legis-lating requirements for the length and methods of installa-tion of casing in oil and gas wells, for methods of aban-donment of these wells and for disposal of saline watercollected during oil production.

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4. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT - INSTITUTIONAL INSTRUMENTS

In Manitoba, groundwater regulation and manage-ment are carried out primarily by two provincial govern-ment departments having both individual and sharedresponsibilit ies. These are the Departments ofEnvironment and Natural Resources. Generally, theDepartment of Natural Resources has responsibility forassessment and allocation of groundwater resourceswhile the Department of Environment has responsibilityfor issues related to groundwater quality, particularly reg-ulatory responsibilities.

Several other provincial agencies are involved insome aspects of groundwater development or protection,although this involvement is less direct in terms of man-agement of the resource than that exercised by theNatural Resources or Environment Departments. TheWater Services Board of the Department of RuralDevelopment carries out groundwater exploration anddevelopment for community and rural water developmentprojects. The Board and Manitoba Agriculture jointlyemploy four farm water technologists who provide adviceon farm and rural water supply problems throughoutsouthern and central Manitoba. Manitoba Agriculturealso works with the farm community to develop guidelinesfor on-farm activities such as livestock manure handlingand disposal which may impact on groundwater quality.

Manitoba Energy and Mines is responsible for legisla-tion that regulates the exploration for and development ofindustrial minerals, base and precious metals, and oil andgas. The legislation includes regulations governingindustrial mineral and base metal test hole constructionand abandonment procedures, casing depths and wellconstruction for oil exploration and production wells, andconstruction of groundwater withdrawal and rechargewells for pressure maintenance in oil fields.

The Manitoba Department of Health has responsibili-ty for groundwater quality where health impacts mayresult from natural or anthropogenic components found ingroundwater. In addition, the Clean EnvironmentCommission has authority to hold hearings into matters ofenvironmental significance in Manitoba and to issue rec-ommendations based on the findings of these hearings.Hearings having some component of groundwater con-cern have been held frequently in the past.

Municipalities and Conservation Districts haveauthority to become involved with some aspects ofgroundwater management although, until recently, fewhave exercised this right.

Federal ly, the Prair ie Farm Rehabi l i tat ionAdministration (PFRA) of Agriculture and Agri-FoodCanada has been involved, primarily as a funding

agency, in many groundwater development projects inManitoba which service rural areas and communities.PFRA provides contributions to cover part of the costs ofwell installations in rural areas. In some cases PFRA hasalso conducted local groundwater resource evaluationsand regional assessments of groundwater conditions inthe province as part of regional or project specific plan-ning studies, generally in cooperation with a provincialagency.

The federal-provincial Prairie Provinces Water Board(PPWB) has also been involved in groundwater on theprairies through their Committee on Groundwater, whichprovides a joint voice on groundwater issues alongprovincial boundaries. The PPWB has sponsored studiesof regional groundwater conditions along the Manitoba-Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan-Alberta borders.

Research into groundwater in Manitoba is carried outin the Department of Civil and Geological Engineering atthe University of Manitoba and, occasionally, by otherCanadian universities. The federal government providesa research presence in the prairies through the NationalHydrology Research Institute in Saskatoon. Somegroundwater research in the province has also been car-ried out by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Avery large program of research into the safe disposal ofhigh level nuclear wastes is currently being carried out byAECL in the Pinawa and Lac du Bonnet areas. A consid-erable amount of test drilling (to depths exceeding 1000m in some cases), aquifer testing, water sampling andanalysis and geological and geophysical logging hasbeen undertaken to develop an understanding of thehydrogeology of igneous and metamorphic rocks and itsinteraction with overburden materials and surface waterbodies. AECL has also constructed an underground lab-oratory to depths greater than 400 m in the Lac duBonnet batholith to conduct intensive studies of thehydrogeology and other properties of these rocks.

A more complete description of the groundwatermanagement activities of Manitoba Environment andManitoba Natural Resources is given below.

4.1 DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT

This department has primary responsibility for thesetting of environmental standards and for environmentalprotection. Manitoba Environment also administers anumber of regulations on behalf of the Department ofHealth, including regulations governing waterworks sys-tems, wastewater collection and wastewater treatment.Manitoba Environment is divided into EnvironmentalManagement and Environmental Operations Divisions.

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4.1.1.1 Environmental Management Division 4.2.1 Water Licensing Section

The Environmental Management Division has prima-ry responsibility for carrying out the environmental licenc-ing approvals processes set out in The Environment Actand The Dangerous Goods Handling and TransportationAct, for developing environmental quality standards forland, air and water, and for administration of regulationsgoverning the storage and application of pesticides. Theapprovals system includes licensing of developmentsproducing or disposing of hazardous wastes, some landuse activities, Class 1 waste disposal grounds, municipaland industrial water and waste handling facilities andother activities requiring licencing under the Act. Thisincludes licensing of municipal lagoons and ensuring thesafety of municipal water supplies, including regular mon-itoring of municipal water quality. Deep well disposaloperations, other than those for petroleum extraction anddisposal of saline water produced in oil extraction, arelicensed by the Division. As well, licensing through thisDivision is required for projects withdrawing more than200 dam3/year of groundwater from an aquifer or closed-loop systems with non-consumptive withdrawals of 25 L/sor greater.

Groundwater usage in excess of 25,000 L/d orgroundwater usage for municipal, irrigation and industrialpurposes, including groundwater heating and cooling sys-tems, must be licensed under the terms of The WaterRights Act. Priority for groundwater allocation is basedon the time of receipt of an application for groundwaterusage. Approval is required to carry out exploration workto establish groundwater conditions and, in most cases, aformal pumping test must be carried out and the resultssubmitted as part of an application. The Water LicencingSection works closely with the Groundwater ManagementSection to ensure that licencing of groundwater withdraw-al or thermal uses of groundwater take place within thesustainable limits of aquifers and to minimize the poten-tial for impact on other users. Dual licensing of ground-water withdrawals is carried out with ManitobaEnvironment for cases where withdrawals exceed 200dam3 per year or for non-consumptive closed-loop sys-tems where the withdrawal rate is greater than 25 L/s.

4.2.2 Groundwater Management Section

4.1.2 Environmental Operations Division

The Environmental Operations Division is divided intofive regional offices covering the province. Each region isstaffed with a Director, supervisory personnel, environ-ment officers and public health inspectors. The regionsare responsible for monitoring and enforcing licences,issuing permits, undertaking investigations, assessmentsand clean-ups and other day to day operations withintheir district. From a groundwater viewpoint, this includesthe investigation of groundwater contaminations andcomplaints of groundwater quality on all scales that hap-pen in the district. Staff also ensure compliance with anumber of certificates issued by the Department ofHealth.

4.2 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

The Department of Natural Resources maintainsresponsibility for surface water and groundwaterresources management through a number of acts ofwhich The Ground Water and Water Well Act and TheWater Rights Act are most directly applicable to ground-water management. These acts and their correspondingregulations and policies are administered by variousSections in the Water Resources Branch.

This section is responsible for administration of TheGround Water and Water Well Act which includes licens-ing of water well contractors, collecting well drillers’reports and maintaining a computerized storage andretrieval system for these reports. Approximately 72,000well logs are currently on file. The section retains primaryresponsibility for groundwater resource evaluation. Tothis end, programs of groundwater mapping, includinggroundwater quality, are carried out, selected aquifersare studied in detail to determine their capacity for sup-plying groundwater without introducing detrimentaleffects, and studies of the potential for artificial rechargeto enhance aquifer capacity have been carried out. Thesection also operates a network of approximately 606groundwater monitoring stations where groundwater lev-els are monitored regularly. Groundwater quality is alsomonitored in a number of these observation wells. Thesection maintains a large amount of groundwater qualityinformation, gathered from regular sampling of monitoringwells and one-time sampling of other wells as part ofregional studies or local investigations. The sectionworks cooperatively with Manitoba Environment to pro-vide hydrogeological input into some groundwater conta-mination investigations and investigates cases whereproblems have occurred as a direct result of well con-struction practices.

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5. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT - OTHER INSTRUMENTS

In this section the major programs operated by agen-cies involved in groundwater management in Manitobaare discussed.

5.1 MONITORING

holes in the granitic bedrock and 100 zones in wells com-pleted into overburden sediments within a kilometre ofthe facility. AECL also carries out water level monitoringin bedrock and overburden materials at several regionalsites in the Lac du Bonnet area.

5.1.1 Water Level Monitoring 5.1.1.3 Other Organizations

5.1.1.1 Water Resources Branch

Groundwater level monitoring by the province wasinitiated in the early 1960s in the carbonate rock aquiferin the Winnipeg area in conjunction with construction ofthe Red River Floodway (Render, 1970) and in theWinkler aquifer near the town of Winkler. Since then theprovincial network has gradually grown in size as moni-toring wells have been installed as part of groundwaterstudies of heavily developed aquifers or to monitor waterlevels in specific regional aquifers. The Branch currentlyoperates a network of 606 monitoring wells consisting of460 wells equipped with automatic water level monitoringdevices (primarily Stevens F series float operatedrecorders) and a further 146 wells that are read manually,usually on a weekly or monthly schedule.

Groundwater level monitoring is, at times, alsorequired to be undertaken by individual operators as partof groundwater withdrawal licensing by the WaterLicensing Section of the Water Resources Branch or aspart of licensing by Manitoba Environment under TheEnvironment Act. In most cases where water level moni-toring has been required, the monitoring information hasbeen supplied to the Water Resources Branch and incor-porated into the provincial data base.

5.1.2 Water Quality Monitoring

5.1.2.1 Water Resources Branch

Most monitoring wells are located in the carbonateaquifer in the Winnipeg area, in the Assiniboine Deltaaquifer, in the Oak Lake aquifer, and in the Winkleraquifer. Regional monitoring is carried out in the carbon-ate aquifer in the Interlake area and in sand and gravelaquifers in southeastern Manitoba. Other observationwells are located near pumping wells in smaller aquiferswhere the long-term yield is uncertain.

Groundwater quality monitoring for major and sometrace elements is currently carried out by the WaterResources Branch in 138 monitoring wells. In addition,groundwater temperatures are monitored by the Branchin the production water from 57 wells used forheating/cooling systems in Winnipeg.

Water level information is digitized and stored onhard disk. Retrieval software allows rapid viewing of thedata in tabular or graphical form at an internal network ofcomputer terminals. External access via modem is alsoavailable. Hard copy printout of the basic data or individ-ual hydrographs can be achieved quickly.

5.1.1.2 Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

Most groundwater quality monitoring is carried out inwells within the provincial water level observation net-work. Most are located in the four main study areas iden-tified previously. The sampling frequency depends onthe availability of funds to carry out analyses and stafftime to collect the samples. Sampling frequency has var-ied from quarterly to every few years. Until recently, sam-pling procedures have also varied from time to time. It isimportant to note that water quality monitoring in thesewells is primarily to observe changes in major ion con-centrations and not to monitor trace level organic or inor-ganic constituents. Results are stored on magnetic tapeand hard copy and are available on request.

Extensive water level monitoring is also carried outby AECL at the Underground Research Laboratory sitenear Lac du Bonnet in southeastern Manitoba. This facil-ity consists of a small mine constructed to a depth ofabout 460 m in the granitic rocks of the Lac du Bonnetbatholith to allow research to be carried out into disposalof high level nuclear wastes. An extensive monitoringnetwork has been established by AECL near the facilityto examine the groundwater perturbations caused byconstruction and operation of the facility. Monitoring iscarried out in approximately 250 zones in about 75 bore-

5.1.2.2 Department of Environment

The Environmental Approvals Branch of ManitobaEnvironment carries out annual sampling of municipalwater systems, including approximately 100 systems uti-lizing groundwater. Both raw and treated water are ana-lyzed for a comprehensive suite of inorganic and someorganic constituents. Results are stored on magnetictape and hard copy and are available on request. Site-specific water quality (organic and/or inorganic) monitor-ing is also carried out at several locations by Manitoba

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Environment staff or local operators who report results tothe department. Monitoring is carried out at selectedwaste disposal grounds, lagoons, and contaminatedsites, including a number of communities where contami-nation by petroleum products has been recognized.

5.1.2.3 Other Organizations

The City of Winnipeg monitors groundwater qualityand methane gas generation near major landfill sites cur-rently operated by the city and in the vicinity of landfillsites which have been closed. This monitoring is general-ly carried out as a requirement of licensing of these facili-ties by Manitoba Environment or by order from thedepartment. Monitoring has not generally been a require-ment in the past but the trend is towards increased moni-toring at sites where groundwater contamination orgroundwater quality changes could occur.

5.2 MAPPING, AQUIFER RESOURCE EVALUATION

5.2.1 Regional Hydrogeologic Mapping

Regional hydrogeological mapping in Manitoba wasinitially undertaken by the Geological Survey of Canada.A series of GSC Water Supply Papers covering thesouthern parts of the province were produced by J. A.Elson and E. C. Halstead in the late 1940s through to theearly 1960s. These reports discussed groundwater condi-tions by Range-Township units and presented water wellinventory information and some geochemical analyses. Inthe late 1960s and during the 1970s regional studieswere undertaken by the Inland Waters Branch of the fed-eral Department of Energy Mines and Resources whichbecame the Inland Waters Directorate of EnvironmentCanada. Charron (1969, 1974) published a series ofreports covering parts of southcentral Manitoba.

In the late 1960s a federal-provincial program wasinitiated to carry out regional studies to evaluate thegroundwater resources of a number of municipalities orgroups of municipalities. By the mid 1970s this hadevolved into a program of mapping the groundwaterresources of the agricultural portion of Manitoba on thebasis of 1:250,000 NTS map sheet units. This programcontinued intermittently until 1987 when the final mapsheet study was completed. In all, mapping was carriedout in 11 map sheet areas (Figure 17). The province iscurrently updating the earlier versions of these studies.Each study consists of a series of maps with notes,cross-sections and a table of groundwater analyses. Themaps generally present the location plan, bedrock geolo-gy, surficial geology, overburden thickness, bedrock sur-face topography, generalized aquifers, groundwater qual-

ity and potentiometric surface within each map sheetarea. Cross-sections show bedrock and surficial geolo-gy, pumping test results and groundwater quality. Thewater chemistry table may include 400 or more analyses.

In the late 1980s, the PPWB commissioned a seriesof six 1:250,000 scale hydrogeologic profile maps cover-ing the sedimentary basin portion of the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border (Prairie Provinces Water Board, 1986).Each map includes a north-south cross-section showingbedrock and surficial geology along the border and thebase of groundwater exploration. A plan view map cover-ing approximately three ranges (29 km) on either side ofthe provincial border shows bedrock geology and over-burden thickness.

The Manitoba Water Resources Branch has also pro-duced two summary maps showing the distribution ofbedrock and surficial aquifers for the entire southern andcentral portions of the province (Rutulis,1986,1987).

Figure 17. Regional Groundwater Availability Studies andPollution Hazard Maps.

I

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5.2.2 Groundwater Pollution Hazard Mapping

In the late 1970s Manitoba Water Resources com-pleted a series of groundwater pollution hazard maps forseven 1:250,000 NTS map sheet areas in agro-Manitoba(Figure 17). Pollution hazard zones were mapped usingavailable information from bedrock and surficial geologi-cal maps, soils maps and water well logs. A pollutionhazard zone was defined as an area where fresh wateraquifers are overlain by less than 6 m (5 m on somemaps) of clays, tills or other low-permeability materials. Aprogram of updating the existing groundwater pollutionhazard maps and producing similar maps for other mapsheet areas in Agro-Manitoba is currently underway. Amore complex classification scheme will be used in pro-ducing the updated and new maps.

The PPWB has prepared 1:250,000 aquifer vulnera-bility maps for the four southernmost map sheets on theSaskatchewan-Manitoba border using the AVI aquifervulnerability mapping procedure (van Stempvoort et al.,1992). These cover the same areas that were mapped inthe PPWB hydrogeologic profiles discussed above.

5.2.3 Aquifer Capacity Studies

Since the early 1960s the Manitoba Water ResourcesBranch has carried out aquifer capacity investigationsthat initially concentrated on major high-use aquifers. Thepurpose of these studies is to develop a comprehensiveunderstanding of the hydrogeology of selected aquifers orportions of aquifers, allowing determination of the longterm safe yield and leading to development of the capa-bility to make quantitative predictions of the effects ofgroundwater development. To date, studies have beencarried out in the carbonate rock aquifer in the Winnipegand Selkirk areas (Render, 1970, 1986), the AssiniboineDelta aquifer, the Oak Lake aquifer, the Glenora aquiferand the smaller Miami, Winkler and Elie aquifers(Render, 1987, 1988). A 10-year plan for further aquifercapacity investigations has been presented that proposesstudies for a number of additional aquifers.

5.3 DATA COLLECTION

5.3.1 Manitoba Water Resources Branch

Legislation requires the filing of a water well driller’sreport with the Water Resources Branch for each well ortest hole constructed in Manitoba unless the well hasbeen drilled by a private individual on private land fordomestic use. Approximately 72,000 reports are currentlyon file and about 2,500 additional reports are submittedto the Branch annually. Each report contains the location

of the well by section, township and range or river lot andparish, a geological log of materials penetrated by thewell, a construction log indicating how the well was com-pleted (casing length and type, screened interval, etc.),results of any pumping test that was done on the well(normally including the static water level, pumping rate,pumping period and water level at the end of the test)and any comments that the driller may add.

Well drillers’ reports are stored in computerized filesand can be retrieved by location or combinations of loca-tion and key word or owner’s name. The data base canbe accessed by submitting a request to the Branch or bytelephone line using a personal computer and modem.On request the Branch will supply floppy discs containingthe complete file of reports and a basic retrieval program.

The Branch also has approximately 15,000 ground-water chemistry analyses stored in paper files, with someof these analyses also stored in computer files. Many ofthe analyses have been published in tables in theGroundwater Availability reports. Most groundwateranalyses are stored by location with many having beencollated to the well driller’s report for the well. Many of theanalyses of samples collected from observation wells forlong-term monitoring purposes are stored by observationwell name in computerized files. This information can beaccessed by submitting a request to the Branch for waterquality information for specific locations.

The Branch maintains groundwater level informationin computerized files for wells monitored within theprovincial observation well network. This information isavailable as plotted hydrographs or daily water levels inhard or magnetic disc copy by submitting a request tothe Branch or may be accessed by modem. Generalizedmaps showing the density of observation well informationby river basin are also available.

Several hundred borehole geophysical logs for wellsand test holes logged by the Branch throughout theprovince are available as paper copies. Most logsinclude at least two of point resistance, self potential, nat-ural gamma or caliper logs. Logs are stored by rangeand are available as photocopies on request to theBranch. Many of the logs have been published as part ofthe cross-sections in the Groundwater Availabilityreports. Unlike the other prairie provinces, virtually noborehole geophysical logging is carried out by individualwater well contractors in Manitoba.

Finally, the Branch maintains paper files (in theprocess of being computerized) of water rights licencesfor groundwater systems. Information included in these

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files are the licensed pumping rates, annual allowablewithdrawals and information such as pumping test resultsfiled as part of the application for the licence.

5.3.2 Manitoba Environment

The Environmental Management Division maintainscomputerized records of water quality information gath-ered as part of the annual sampling of municipal systems.Records are stored by community and date and are avail-able on request to the Division.

Files are also maintained on known contaminatedsites, lagoons and waste disposal grounds along with anygroundwater quality information gathered as part of siteinvestigation or monitoring. Databases of petroleum stor-age tank locations and incident reports are also available.

5.3.3 Manitoba Energy and Mines

The department has conducted drilling operationsthroughout southern Manitoba since 1969 when the firstholes were drilled to provide supplemental informationneeded to construct stratigraphic maps for bedrock in theInterlake region. Since that time, over 250 holes(25,000 m) have been drilled in the Interlake and southernManitoba to generate additional stratigraphic information,test and evaluate industrial mineral occurrences, and todetermine the nature of the Precambrian basement inareas covered by the younger Paleozoic formations.Logs for stratigraphic holes drilled under this program arepublished annually in the department’s Report ofActivities and are available on request. Cores are alsoavailable for examination. More recently, in the GrandRapids region, the department has begun monitoring sta-tic water levels in its stratigraphic drillholes, and to workcooperatively with the Geological Survey of Canada andthe provincial Water Resources Branch in logging holesgeophysically. Generally speaking, water sampling andhydraulic testing have not been conducted on theseholes.

The Geological Services Branch maintains a fullycomputerized Stratigraphic Database containing recordsof all exploration and stratigraphic holes drilled in south-ern Manitoba. The Petroleum Branch maintains a paral-lel database referred to as the Manitoba Oil and Gas WellInformation System (MOGWIS) containing geological andengineering data for all petroleum exploration and devel-opment holes drilled in the province. Logs for water sup-ply wells for pressure maintenance water flooding arealso maintained on this file.

Geochemical data on subsurface carbonate forma-tions and on selected spring waters is also collected bythe Geological Services Branch as an aid to mineralexploration.

5.4 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

5.4.1 Technology Transfer

No formal mechanism is in place in the province fortransfer of technology to water well drillers. On an ad hocbasis, some degree of technological transfer occurs withselected drillers when the drillers are carrying out workfor government departments. The Department of RuralDevelopment employs a well construction superintendentwho will provide assistance to well drillers to resolve diffi-cult drilling or testing problems. Otherwise, the annualconvention organized by the Manitoba Water WellAssociation provides a forum for information exchange.

5.4.2 Assistance with Well Problems

Assistance to individuals with well problems (waterquality, well construction) is provided by three provincialDepartments: Natural Resources, Rural Developmentand Environment. The Water Resources Branch will pro-vide telephone or written advice to individuals with wellproblems and in some cases will provide more directassistance such as borehole geophysical logging, sitevisits, specialized sampling and analysis, assistance inborehole sealing, regional water sampling programs todefine the extent of problems, or will act as an intermedi-ary for the well owner to obtain assistance from theirdriller or other government agency. The farm water tech-nologists with Rural Development will also provide tele-phone advice and site visits, including field chemicalanalyses, to deal with well problems within rural areas ofsouthern and central Manitoba. The well constructionsuperintendent with this department provides more spe-cialized assistance in difficult cases. Public healthinspectors and environmental officers with theEnvironmental Operations Division of ManitobaEnvironment also provide assistance to individuals withgroundwater quality problems and will investigate andwork to resolve problems related to pollution of ground-water.

The responsibilities of these three departments over-lap to some degree on the issue of resolving well prob-lems. In difficult or large scale problems, there is oftencooperative involvement of all three departments while insome smaller problems the individual roles are diffusedand problems are generally handled by whomeverreceives the initial complaint.

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5.5 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Financial assistance is provided to bona fide farmersthrough Manitoba Rural Development and PFRA for theinstallation of wells for farm water supplies (including irri-gation) and may also include financial and supervisoryassistance for test drilling. PFRA provides financialassistance up to one-third of eligible costs to a maximum

of $2,200 per project for irrigation projects and $1,650 forindividual wells. Manitoba Rural Development will pro-vide up to 30% of some approved development costs notcovered by PFRA. PFRA also provides financial assis-tance up to 40% of the cost for approved water develop-ment projects for small rural communities or legally-asso-ciated groups of farmers or ranchers. Local PFRA officesshould be consulted for specific details.

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6. REFERENCES

Agr i cu l t u re Canada (1976 ) : Agroclimatic Atlas.Agrometeorology Research and Service, Chemistry and BiologyResearch Institute, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada,Ottawa, Ontario.

Anonymous (1992): Caves in Manitoba’s Interlake Region.Speleological Society of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

Bannatyne, B.B. (1970): The Clays and Shales of Manitoba.Manitoba Department of Mines and Natural Resources, MinesBranch Publication 67-1.

Bannatyne, B.B. (1988): Dolomite Resources of SouthernManitoba. Manitoba Energy and Mines, Geological Services,Economic Geology Report ER85-1.

Bamburak, J.D. (1978): Stratigraphy of the Riding Mountain,Boissevain and Turtle Mountain Formations in the TurtleMountain Area, Manitoba. Manitoba Department of Mines,Resources and Environmental Management, MineralResources Division, Geological Report 78-2.

Baracos, A., D.H. Shields and B. Kjartanson (1983): GeologicalEngineering Report for Urban Development of Winnipeg.Department of Geological Engineering, University of Manitoba.

Beck, A.E. and D. Brown (1985): Radionuclides in Well Waterof Southeastern Manitoba. Manitoba Department ofEnvironment and Workplace Safety and Health, EnvironmentalManagement Services Branch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N. (1983): Groundwater Availability Map Series -Virden Area (62-F). Manitoba Natural Resources, WaterResources Branch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N. (1984): The Potential for Saline Waste WaterDisposal into Deep Geologic Formations, Dorsey Station,Manitoba. Manitoba Natural Resources, Water ResourcesBranch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N. (1985): Groundwater Availability Map Series -Kenora Area. Manitoba Natural Resources, Water ResourcesBranch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N. (1986a): Groundwater Availability Map Series -Selkirk Area (62-l). Manitoba Natural Resources, WaterResources Branch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N., (1986b): Regional Hydrogeology of theWinnipeg Formation in Manitoba. In: Proceedings of the ThirdCanadian Hydrogeological Conference, April 20-23, 1986,Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Edited by G. van derKamp and M. Madunicky.

Betcher, R.N., M. Gascoyne and D. Brown (1988): Uranium inGroundwaters of Southeastern Manitoba, Canada. CanadianJournal of Earth Sciences, Volume 25, pages 2089-2103.

Betcher, R.N. (1989): Groundwater Availability Map Series -Neepawa Area (62-J). Manitoba Natural Resources, WaterResources Branch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N. (1992): Groundwater Availability Map Series -Swan Lake Area (63-C). Manitoba Natural Resources, WaterResources Branch, Winnipeg.

Betcher, R.N., H.R. McCabe and F.W. Render (1992): The FortGarry Aquifer in Manitoba. Manitoba Energy and Mines,Geological Services, Geological Report GR93-1.

Brace, W.F. (1980): Permeability of Crystalline andArgillaceous Rocks. International Journal of Rock Mechanicsand Mining Science and Geomechanical Abstracts, Volume 17,pages 241-251.

Buth, J.L., H. Rohde and R. Butler (1992): Groundwater QualityAssessment of the Assiniboine Delta Aquifer. ManitobaAgriculture, Crop Management Section, Carman, Manitoba.

Charron, J.E. (1969): Hydrochemical Interpretation ofGroundwater Movement in the Red River Valley, Manitoba.Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, Water ResourcesBranch, Scientific Series No. 2.

Charron, J.E. (1974): A Hydrogeological Study of the SelkirkArea, Manitoba. Environment Canada, Inland WatersDirectorate, Scientific Series No. 8.

Cherry, J.A. and J.E. Smith (1990): Wood-PreservativeMigration Through a Clayey Aquitard in Winnipeg: 1. FieldInvestigation. Waterloo Center for Groundwater Research,University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario.

CH2M Hill Engineering Ltd. (1994). Environmental, Health andSafety Assessment of the Sutherland Avenue OperationsFacility in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Phase I: Preliminary SiteInvestigation). Report prepared for Centra Gas Ltd., Winnipeg,Manitoba.

Davis, S.N. (1988): Sandstones and Shales. In: The Geology ofNorth America, Volume O-2, Hydrogeology, edited by W. Back,J.S. Rosenhein and P.R. Seaber, The Geological Society ofAmerica, Boulder, Colorado.

Davison, C.C. (1984): Hydrogeological Characterization at theSite of Canada’s Underground Research Laboratory. In:Proceedings of the International Groundwater Symposium onGroundwater Resources Util ization and ContaminantHydrogeology. Compiled by R.Pearson. Atomic Energy ofCanada Ltd. Volume 2, pages 310-335.

Davison, C.C. and E.T. Kozak (1988): HydrogeologicalCharacteristics of Major Fracture Zones in a Granite Batholith oft h e C a n a d i a n S h i e l d . I n : Proceedings FourthCanadian/American Conference on Hydrogeology, Banff,Alberta. Edited by B. Hitchon and S. Bachu.

Downey, J.S. (1984): Geohydrology of the Madison andAssociated Aquifers in Parts of Montana, North Dakota, SouthDakota, and Wyoming. U.S. Geological Survey ProfessionalPaper 1273-G.

Environment Canada (1982): Canadian Climatic Normals,Volume 3: Precipitation, 1951-1980. Canadian ClimateProgram, Atmospheric Environment Service.

Farvolden, R.N., O. Pfannkuch, R. Pearson and P. Fritz (1988):Region 12, Precambrian Shield. In: The Geology of NorthAmerica, Volume O-2, Hydrogeology. Edited by W. Back, , J.S.Rosenshein and P.R. Seaber. The Geological Society ofAmerica, Boulder, Colorado.

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Fitzgerald, M.M., D.N. Flaten, G.J. Racz, R.G. Eilers, N.R.Bulley and R. Sri Ranjan (1994). Sustainability of irrigation withHigh-Chloride Lagoon Effluent and Groundwater. Faculty ofAgriculture and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba,Winnipeg.

Ford, D.C. and P.W. Williams (1989). Karst Geomorphologyand Hydrology. Unwin Hyman Ltd., London.

Freeze, R.A. and J.A. Cherry (1979): Groundwater. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Gascoyne, M., J.D. Ross, A. Purdy, S.K. Frape, R.J. Drimmie, P. Fritz and R.N. Betcher (1989): Evidence for Penetration of

Sedimentary Brines into an Archean Granite of the CanadianShield. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium onWater-Rock Interactions, Malvem, 3-8 August 1989. Edited byD.L. Miles.

Grice, R.H. (1964): Hydrogeology at a Hydroelectric Installationon Paleozoic Dolomites at Grand Rapids, Manitoba.Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Geology, Universityof Illinois.

Health and Welfare Canada (1993): Guidelines for CanadianDrinking Water Quality. Prepared by the Federal-ProvincialSubcommittee on Drinking Water of the Federal-ProvincialAdvisory Committee on Environmental and OccupationalHealth, Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa.

Hess, P.J. (1986): Ground-Water Use in Canada, 1981. InlandWaters Directorate, Technical Bulletin 140, EnvironmentCanada, Ottawa.

KGS Group (1993): Groundwater Supply Evaluation and WellSystem Design, Piney, Manitoba. Technical Report. Preparedfor Clearly Canadian, Vancouver.

Lebedin, J. (1978): Groundwater Resources of the BeausejourArea, Manitoba. Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration,Geology and Air Surveys Division, Regina, Saskatchewan.

Lehr, J.H., E.T. Gass, W.A. Pettyjohn and J. DeMarre (1988):Domestic Water Treatment. National Water Well Association,Dublin, OH.

Lennox, D.H., H. Maathuis and D. Pederson (1988): Region 13,Western Glaciated Plains. In: The Geology of North America,Volume O-2, Hydrogeology. Edited by W. Back, J.S.Rosenshein and P.R. Seaber. The Geological Society ofAmerica, Boulder, Colorado.

Little, J. (1973): Ground-water Availability in the Ochre River-Ste. Rose Area. Manitoba Department of Natural Resources,Water Resources Branch, Ground-water Availability StudiesReport No. 7, Winnipeg.

Little, J. (1980): Groundwater Availability Map Series -Winnipeg Area (62H). Manitoba Natural Resources, WaterResources Branch, Winnipeg.

Manitoba Mineral Resources Division (1981): Surficial GeologyMap of Manitoba, Scale 1:1,000,000 Map 81-1.

Manitoba Mineral Resources Division (1979): Geological Mapof Manitoba, Scale 1 :1,000,000, Map 79-2.

Maxey, G.B. (1964): Hydrostratigraphic Units. Journal ofHydrology, Volume 2, pages 124-129.

McCabe, H.R. (1963): Mississippian Oil Fields of SouthwesternManitoba. Manitoba Department of Mines and NaturalResources, Mines Branch Publication 60-5.

McCabe, H.R. (1978): Reservoir Potential of the Deadwoodand Winnipeg Formations Southwestern Manitoba. ManitobaDepartment of Mines, Resources and EnvironmentalManagement, Geological Paper 78-3.

McKillop, W.B., R.T. Patterson, L.D. Delorme and T. Nogrady(1992). The Origin, Physico-chemistry and Biotics of SodiumChloride Dominated Saline Waters on the Western Shore ofLake Winnipegosis, Manitoba. Canadian Field-Naturalist,Volume 106 (4), pages 454-473.

Neuzil, C.E. (1994): How Permeable are Clays and Shales?Water Resources Research, Volume 30, Number 2, pages 145-150.

Noiseux, C.A. (1992): Facies Analysis of the Upper OrdovicianFort Garry Member, Red River Formation, Southern Manitoba.Unpublished B.Sc. Thesis, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,Manitoba.

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Render, F.W. (1988): Water Supply Capacity of the AssiniboineDelta Aquifer. Canadian Water Resources Journal, Volume 13,Number 4, pages 35-51.

Roberts, K., B. Steams and R.L. Francis (1985): Investigationof Arsenic in Southeastern North Dakota Ground Water. NorthDakota State Department of Health, Division of Water Supplyand Pollution Control, Bismarck, North Dakota.

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Rutulis, M. (1979): Groundwater Resources in the BrokenheadPlanning District. Manitoba Natural Resources, WaterResources Branch, Winnipeg.

Rutulis, M. (1982): Groundwater Resources in the R.M. of Lacdu Bonnet Planning District. Manitoba Natural Resources,Water Resources Branch, Winnipeg.

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Rutulis, M. (1985): Hydrogeology in the Vicinity of the Village ofGlenboro Sewage Lagoon System. Manitoba Department ofNatural Resource, Water Resources Branch, Winnipeg.

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Thorne, G.A. and M. Gascoyne (1993). Groundwater Rechargeand Discharge Characteristics in Granitic Terraines of theCanadian Shield. Paper presented at the 24th IAH Congress,Hydrogeology of Hard Rocks, Oslo, Norway, June 28 - July 2,1993.

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Van Stempvoort, D., L. Ewert and L. Wassenaar (1992): AVI:A Method for Groundwater Protection Mapping in the PrairieProvinces of Canada. Prairie Provinces Water Board ReportNo. 114.

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7. CONTACTS AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION7.1 MANITOBA ENVIRONMENT 7.3 MANITOBA WATER SERVICES BOARD

7.1.1 Environmental Management Division R. Menon

S. ScrafieldA / General Manager

Assistant Deputy Minister(204) 726-6073

(204) 945-7107 A. Pedersen

L. StrachanSenior Groundwater Engineer

Director, Environmental Approvals(204) 726-6085

(204) 945-7071 7.4 MANITOBA ENERGY AND MINESM. MorelliDirector, Environmental Quality Standards 7.4.1 Petroleum Branch(204) 945-7032 R. Dubreuil

Director, Petroleum Branch7.1.2 Environmental Operations Division (204) 945-6573

C. Orcutt 7.4.2 Mines BranchAssistant Deputy Minister(204) 945-7008

D.BrownRegional Director, Eastern / Interlake Region(204) 326-3468

A. BallDirector, Mines Branch

(204) 945-6505

7.4.3 Geological Services Branch. S. DavisRegional Director, Northern Region(204) 627-8362

Dr. W.D. McRitchieDirector, Geological Services Branch(204) 945-6559

B. ChrispRegional Director, Park-West Region(204) 726-6565

L. MacCallumRegional Director, South-Central Region(204) 325-2291

D. Wotton

7.5 MANITOBA HEALTH7.5.1 Regional Operations Division

R. RossExecutive Director, Regional OperationsDivision(204) 945-3240

Regional Director, Winnipeg Region(204) 945-7081 7.6 UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA

7.6.1 Department of Civil and Geological7.2 MANITOBA WATER RESOURCES BRANCH Engineering

D. Sexton Dr. A. WoodburyDirector, Water Resources Branch Associate Professor(204) 945-7488 (204) 474-9137

7.2.1 Groundwater Management Section 7.7 ATOMIC ENERGY OF CANADA LIMITEDL. GrayHead, Groundwater Management Section(204) 945-7403

F. RenderAquifer capacity evaluation program(204) 945-7402

R. BetcherAquifer mapping program, contaminant hydrogeology(204) 945-7420

J. PetsnikData storage and retrieval, monitoring programs(204) 945-7425

7.2.2 Water Licensing SectionJ. StefansonHead, Water Licensing Section(204) 945-6117

C.C. DavisonManager, Applied Geoscience Branch(204) 753-2311

7.8 PRAIRIE FARM REHABILITATIONADMINISTRATIONA.VermetteManager, Regional Water Programs(204) 984-3694

J. LebedinManager, Geology and Air Survey Division(306) 780-5207

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