IS THE REGION PLAYING GAMES WITH CAMBRIDGE'S DRINKING WATER ?

Oh boy, this could be playing with fire! Therefore let me state that the following posting is my opinion. It is not based upon idle speculation however; it is based upon a serious and ongoing study of the Region of Waterloo's Annual Drinking Water Reports. I've been trying to look at the big picture over a number of years and I am finding some very strange drinking well shutdowns as well as occasional detections of industrial chemicals in them. These detections of industrial chemicals are not too surprisingly related to nearby industries whether Cnd. General Tower, Ciba-Geigy (Novartis), Allen Bradley, Northstar Aerospace as well as the Cambridge Landfill. Keep also in mind two terms namely Interceptor Wells and Pumping to Waste. These terms are connected in that an Interceptor Well is situated between drinking wells and a point source of contamination. The idea is to intercept contaminated water before it reaches the drinking wells. The drinking wells therefore primarily are pumping cleaner groundwater that is outside the cone of influence of the Interceptor Well. These Interceptor Wells therefore need to discharge their water somewhere. It can be onto the surface, into storm water sewers and hence a nearby creek or even into the sanitary sewers for treatment at the local sewage treatment plant. Hence the term pumping to waste.

It is quite possible to have an Interceptor Well also doing double duty as a Drinking Well. Here however is where things get tricky and complicated. By the way everything I am surmising here is absolutely contrary to the Justic O'Connor Report on the Walkerton tragedy. Justic O'Connor emphasized a multiple barrier approach to drinking water safety. In other words from the original source of water, surface or groundwater, to the treatment and distribution; the water should constantly be monitored at all points and any problems or issues needed to be isolated and removed from the system immediately. In other words a single world class treatment system for example is not a multi barrier approach. One failure whether mechanical or chemical at the treatment plant and contaminated water is into the distribution system. Ideally the source water is safe and clean and proven to be so, and continues throughout multiple stages with testing ongoing. Similarily the distribution system piping also needs to be continuously monitored.

What I believe I am seeing in Cambridge is multiple sources of contaminated water being "managed" via the use of many nearby pumping/drinking wells. As nearby wells are pumped they draw the contaminated water towards them until the plume has reached the well. Then after an adverse reading that well is either shut down allowing the plume to shift in direction or the well merely goes "offline" for weeks, months or years. By "offline" it means that the well piping is disconnected from the distribution and or treatment system. Again the well is free to pump to waste or into sewers etc.. When one looks at wells nearby to the above mentioned contaminated sites a pattern appears to emerge. I am the first to admit that this is not immediately obvious for many reasons. Most Cambridge residents have absolutely no idea which wells by name are located where. The Annual Reports certainly are not very helpful in that regard. Also most citizens do not know which chemicals have been found in the nearby groundwater of these various past polluters. Finally most citizens also don't know in detail the extent of cleanups done or the long term charteristics of specific industrial chemicals leaked or discharged into the natural environment.

If I am correct, even partially, in what I believe I am seeing, then the Region of Waterloo have some serious explaining to do. Perhaps the Region are actually on to some kind of incredibly complicated but possible long term contaminated groundwater management system here. Regardless I believe they owe the public the whole truth, not a varnished one. They and the Ontario M.O.E. generally try and minimize the extent of industrial pollution by routinely suggesting that the drinking wells are safe and protected whether by geological formations, depth to wellscreens etc.. My experience has been that once solvents and other industrial chemicals are into the shallow aquifers they keep spreading both vertically and horizantly. I'm beginning to suspect that the Region will be bragging about their tap water right up until the day they have the Lake Erie pipeline completed. Then suddenly they will advise the public that golly gee things aren't quite as rosy as we thought they were.