MORE KITCHENER WELLS

The Parkway System is located near Fairway Rd. and Manitoy Dr. and consists of wells K31, K32 and K33. Bacteria levels in the raw water are very low, as are Turbidity and chlorine levels in the treated water which is normal. Sodium levels are extremely high (12 x guideline) and Nitrate levels are higher than most although below the provincial guideline. Solvents and herbicides share the problems with other wells in that nine of them have Method Detection Limits (MDLs) higher than 1 part per billion (ppb). Glyphosate (Roundup), similar to other wells has a MDL of 25 ppb. Trichloroethylene (TCE) a very toxic solvent has been present in low levels in this well for decades likely courtesy of the former Deilcraft (Electrohome) factory nearby. Chloramines are consistently present in the treated water at greater than half the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS). With the very low bacteria levelsw in the raw water I find this surprising and wonder if it is to cover up the taste/smell of solvents in the water. ................................................................................................................. The Strange St. Well Supply System was all originally located on Strange St. not too far from the former Uniroyal Chemical tire plant. That was always a bad idea. I believe many years ago two additional wells were added, further away from the Uniroyal location. Currently this System consists of wells K10A, K11A, K13, K18 and K19. Well, well, well! This entire Well System was offline for 2020! That does not surprise me in the least. There is of course absolutely no explanation in this report as to why all five wells were shut down throughout 2020. Interestingly all test results are from 2018 and they share the same deficiencies as all the other test results for solvents and herbicides. Also keep in mind that rubber factories (tires etc.) use a myriad of chemical additives and other exotic chemicals in their production. I expect that too many unusual chemicals are in the nearby groundwater and combined with all the publicity around rubber workers horrible health issues caused by on the job chemicals, the Region are attempting to dodger a bullet here. Of course the utter failure to explain well removals and disappearances in these Annual Reports gives the knowledgable reader great concern that the Region are intentionally covering up problem wells. ...................................................................................................... As mentioned here a few days ago, the Woolner Well Supply is a bust. Now at least they do advise us that the well houses and treatment plant buildings were decommissioned and the connection to the Kitchener Distribution System removed. This also is not a surprise as they have not sampled and published the water results since 2010! Basically this system is located along the Grand River downstream of Breslau and particularly Safety-Kleen. The closer to the oil recycling operation, K70 and K71 wells have been shut down for many years. I have old technical reports showing the groundwater contaminated between the plant and the Grand River contaminated with solvents and chemicals galore. The further downstream Woolner System had phenols present along with odour and tatse problems for years. Once again the Region of Waterloo are happy for their citizens to foot the water treatment costs right up to the time of decommissioning but not so happy to honestly share the specific reasons, causes and sources of contamination to the raw water. Shame on them!