CAMBRIDGE TURNBULL WELL SYSTEM & SOME KITCHENER WELLS

The Turnbull Well System is located on the east side of Cambridge and consists of wells G16, G17 and G18. Well G17 was offline for eighteen weeks in 2015. No reason was given. Microbiological testing (ie. bacteria) all look good. Turbidity and chlorine levels in the water are all very good. Sodium is at a very low 22.7 mg/l. Method Detection Limits are high for a dozen chemicals just like all the other Annual Reports in the Region. Also the testing is 2014 versus 2015.

The Greenbrook Well System is located by the intersection of Highland Rd. and Filsinger Dr. It consists of wells K1A, K2A, K4B, K5A and K8. All these wells were offline for 48 weeks in 2015 due to human error causing an explosion. A delivery person managed to either put chlorine in an ammonia storage container or vice versa. The results were loud and very damaging to the tune of $800,000. These wells were also shut down a few years back after 1,4-dioxane was discovered in the water, most likely courtesy of the Ottawa St. Landfill and probably courtesy of either Uniroyal Chemical or Varnicolor Chemical in Elmira.

The maximum Turbidity of the raw water in these wells is much too high which can lead to disinfection (bacteria) problems. That said the water is treated not only with chlorine but also via an advanced oxidation process (AOP) which seems to do the job.

The Parkway Well System consists of wells K31, K32 and K33. They are located on Manitou Drive. Turbidity (cloudiness) and chlorine levels are both good. Sodium is horrible at 201 mg/l although the reading is from 2013 which is outrageous. This is one of the highest readings in Waterloo Region and they can't even give us up to date test results. High sodium levels can be very bad for people with heart issues. Trichloroethylene is present in the drinking water albeit at low levels namely .7 parts per billion (ppb). While below the Ontario Drinking Water Standard (ODWS) it is still exactly .7 ppb too high. This is likely the leftover result of the former Deilcraft factory located nearby which has been remediated. Also Chloramines are more than half their health standard over most of the year. No one knows what the health effects are of multiple low level contaminants in our drinking water.

Wells K34 and k36 are in the south-west area of Kitchener. Other than chloramines exceeding half their health standard
the only other peculiarity would be the 2011 test result for sodium. It is reasonably low but 2011, really? The other test results appropriately are for 2015.

REGION'S TOWNSHIPS TAKE A BEATING FROM THE K-W RECORD

This past Saturday the Waterloo Region Record did a major, front page expose if you will of Woolwich, Wellesley and North Dumfries Townships. The article was titled "Trouble in the Townships" and it was a barnburner. In my opnion Woolwich and North Dumfries took the brunt of the bad press, appropriately so. North Dumfries apparently have had several years of fiscal mismanagement compounded by a lack of transparency of the situation, allegedly even with their Council. If we are to believe their mayor Sue Foxton, she and Council had no idea as to how much financial difficulty they were in. It was serious enough that there were apparently threats of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs stepping in and taking over. This is indeed within their scope and authority if they feel that a municipality's governance is badly lacking. What I find difficult to comprehend is the fact that she in particular was unaware of their Township's finances. Afterall she had been a Councillor for seventeen years prior to being elected mayor. The only way that makes sense is if the books had been absolutely cooked and that should have resulted in criminal charges not merely dismissal of an employee.

Woolwich Township of course has had the Todd Cowan saga for a year and a half and the Election Finance Scandal for about a year. Mr. Cowan faces the music in mid June and mayor Sandy Shantz is back in court in just over two weeks (March 23/16). Councillor Mark Bauman was temporarily removed and then surrepticiously snuck back into office by way of Superior Court with honest citizens not even informed of the time, date or venue. What a weasel. Councillor Scot Hahn was actually hammered by the results of a forensic audit done by Froese and Associates yet the Municpal Elections Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC) let him walk. Yes Sandy that is a conspiracy.

While Paige Desmond of the Record did not focus on the behaviour of Councillor Bauman or MECAC she did mention a couple of other issues. The first is the behaviour of the Township's Municipal Clerk. With both Councillor Bauman and mayor Shantz she was both reluctant and tardy in issuing the Notices of Default. She was also responsible for ensuring compliance to the Elections Act when the candidates filed their Financial Statements. Councillor's Bauman's total lack of filing should have resulted in an immediate Notice of Default instead of one, months later. Councillor Hahn's $258 total expenses should have been immediately challenged by the Clerk and was not. To date he is over $3,000 in expenses and he obviously had not filed accurately, even at first blush. The mayor's multiple errors, omissions and inaccuracies were more subtle. Perhaps her 31 years of bookeeping experience at least gave the appearance of honesty and accuracy thus getting by the Clerk.

Paige Desmond also mentioned the not so minor matter of the Ontario Ombudsman taking Woolwich Council to task. The Council had gotten into some very bad and sloppy behaviour in discussing public matters privately ie. in camera. It turns out that Woolwich Council and their high paid CAO have great difficulty in interpreting the rules as they pertain to transparency and public matters. Woolwich now claim that they are on track and understand their duties and responsibilities.

Finally it is heartwarming watching our local mayor pass the buck. That old adage that the buck stops here clearly does not apply in Woolwich. Instead of "manning" up and admitting her own failures, mayor Shantz advises the Record and its' readers that "the cause of the Woolwich issues is really a small group of residents who are unhappy with her and other members of council.". That's it, myself and other residents forced Mark Bauman not to file, Scot Hahn to ignore all his expenses and Sandy Shantz to miscalculate by thousands of dollars, forget some expenses, fail to file an Audit, accept overdonations etc. etc..

BACK TO CAMBRIDGE DRINKING WELLS

Well P9 is located just north of the old Ciba-Geigy site on the east side of Cambridge. Other than the usual reporting weaknesses and failures common to all Region of Waterloo Annual Reports; it is a relief to state that this well is unremarkable in all areas. Raw water bacteria levels are minimal to nil. Turbidity and Chlorine levels are both within standards. Sodium is a little high at 78.6 mg/l but certainly no prize winner for Cambridge drinking water. My only other complaint would relate to the legal yet disheartening practice of not having up to date (ie. 2015) results for all the solvents, chemicals and pesticides tested. Afterall this report is the 2015 Annual Report.

Wells P15 and P16 are also generally unremarkable albeit well P16 has been shut down for many years without explanation. Actually the Region use the term offline although the latest P16 test results are from 2003 which kind of tells us how long it's been "offline.". Chlorine maximum levels in P15 are a too high 3.37 mg/l which could lead to excessive Trihalomethanes (THMs) which are a human health issue. This is but yet another well in these reports which does not advise us of the THM levels.

Wells P10, P11 and P17 are part of the Pinebush Well System. Normally well P10 runs in conjunction with either P11 or P17 and those two wells alternate duties. We are advised that in 2015 there was a major expenditure of $600,000 on these wells. The description given is "Filter media and underdrain replacement". Hmm. That's it, a five word description for a $600,000 expenditure. O.K. I've got a pretty good idea what the filter media replacement would be. This well system and a few others use filters filled with manganese greensand and anthracite coal. A few years back I googled those but currently I'm drawing a blank... O.K... I just took a little Google break. Both these filter media are used for Iron and Maganese removal along wuth suspended sediments in the water. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the bulk of this cost was the "underdrain" replacement whatever exactly that might be.

Bacteria levels, raw water Turbidity and Chlorine levels (after treatment) are all within specifications. Sodium is a reasonable 33.6 mg/l and again test reults are unfortunately from 2014.

The Shades Mill Well System consists of four wells namely G7, G8, G38 and G39. Interestingly I have a very old Cambridge map on my office wall given to me by Brenda Thompson of Cambridge perhaps twenty years ago. It shows a whole lot more wells in the vicinity of Shades Mills that I have never seen in any of these Region of Waterloo Reports. They are named as wells G30-G36. Is it a coincidence that these wells are very close to the Cambridge Landfill site? Are they currently acting as Interceptor Wells and being pumped to waste or are they simply "offline" forever?

These four wells (G7, G8, G38 & G39) also had $600,000 spent on "Filter media and underdrain replacement". Now their raw water has a little problem with Total Coliform detections. Zero E.Coli but nevertheless these bacteria results (15 detections) are a little concerning in the raw water. Turbidity is a little on the high side with a maximum reading of 1.07 NTU (Nephlemetric Turbidity Units). NTU standards are all over the map with 1.0 being a fairly common standard. Sodium levels are good and the chemical test results are all for 2015 which is good.

A TEMPORARY SWITCH OVER TO CITY OF WATERLOO WELLS

I expect that I will go back to the rest of the City of Cambridge wells tomorrow or next week. Today we will be looking at the City of Waterloo well system. It consists of the William St. Wellfield, the Erb St. Wellfield and W10, well sort of. We are advised in this year's Annual Report that W10 was offline for all of 2015. No reason or explanation is given whatsoever. W10 is located on the north-west side of Waterloo and further digging indicates that it has been offline since 2007. Would it kill the Region to have told us that? Would it kill them to give even a brief one sentence (preferably honest) explanation as to what the problem is or whether there even is a problem with this well?

The Erb St. Wellfield consists of wells W6A, W6B, W7 and W8. We are advised in this year's Annual Report that Well W6A was offline for all of 2015. No reason given. Again this report fails to advise the reader that in fact Well W6A has been shut down since 2013. There was also no explanation given then. Furthemore with more digging it appears that the long history of the Erb St. wells has included only wells W6A, W7 and W8. W6B appeared on the scene and in these reports firstly in 2012! One could surmise or assume that Well W6B was brought online to replace W6A but it would certainly be less worrisome if the Region were to include basic information in these reports as to why they are adding or dropping wells from longtime wellfields. There were a couple of Adverse Incidents in regards to the Contact Time of the disinfectant used to remove bacteria from the water during 2015. Mains were flushed, disinfection restored and resampling done. The actual raw water bacteria levels appear to be quite low thus I was a little surprised to see half a page of "Inorganic parameters that exceeded half the prescribed standard". These parameters were all Chloramines which are a disinfectant by-product and indeed are a human health issue.

The William St. wells are as bad as usual. They consist of four different wells with well W1B offline for five weeks in 2015. No explanation given. Turbidity (cloudiness) and chlorine levels are within specifications however Sodium is off the charts at 223 mg/litre. This is one of the highest readings I've seen anywhere within the Region of Waterloo. Trihalomethane levels are not reported and should be. These THMs are also a by-product of disinfection and a serious health issue. Advising that they can allegedly be found elsewhere is not helpful. Citizens have come to these Annual Reports to learn about their drinking water. The only good news I can give is that the test results are all up to date namely 2015. The bad news is both Chloramines and Trichloroethylene (TCE). Chloramine levels are not exceeding their individual health standard of 3 mg/l but there is almost a full page of results greater than half this standard. Combine that with TCE results constantly between 1.2 and 1.8 parts per billion (ppb) present in the treated water and you have the formula for trouble. No one, nowhere has any idea of the effects of multiple serious contaminants on the human body. These individual standards are meaningless for multiple toxic contaminants and both the Region of Waterloo and the Ontario Ministry of Environment know that full well. Basically the citizens of Waterloo, similar to those of Cambridge are guinea pigs with exposures to low level multiple contaminants in their drinking water. I won't even get started with all the high Method Detection Limits that are probably hiding other contaminants such as Glyphosate.

HESPELER WELLS PLUS A PRESTON WELL

To date I would suggest that there have not been too many surprises in the Region of Waterloo's Annual (drinking water) Reports. Wells with checkered pasts and a long history of issues continue to be so. The inherent problems in these Reports along with their standard operating procedures which hide problems have not been fixed. This includes multiple Delegations to Woolwich Council who have publicly stated that they would lobby both the Ministry of Environment and the Region for improvements in their reporting systems. To date I've had no positive responses from anyone.

Well H3 (H for Hespeler) we are advised had "No adverse results for the 2015 reporting period". Further regarding maintenance issues and monetary expenses we are advised that "Not applicable; no significant expenses incurred". Then we are advised that "Well H3 was offline for 51 weeks in 2015". What the hell?

The good news is that the microbiological testing done was all excellent with zero Total Coliform and zero E.Coli. Also Turbidity and Chlorine results were within specifications. Yes Sodium results were high at 104 mg/l and finally all the test results were taken in 2015. Taken on literally a handful of samples only. Absolutely no hint as to why this well was essentially shut down for the year.

Well H4 is another of the wells which fairly recently has been updgraded? with an additional well namely H4A. There of course is no explanation why or how. Well H4 was shut down for the entire year while H4A did all the pumping. From an on-line article I read a couple of years ago regarding Cambridge bedrock wells it is possible that well H4 had a sleeve added to allow pumping from a different layer of bedrock. Or alternatively it could literally be a separate drilled well beside H4 again with the well screen at a different depth in a less contaminated zone. H4A appears to have no microbiological or chemical issues. Even Sodium is considerably lower at 34.7 mg/l. My only concern is that all these test results for a well pumping the entire year (2015) are from 2014. Bizarre when well H3 which only ran for a week in 2015 was fully tested in 2015.

Hespeler well H5 ran the entire year and seems to be without issues. Even sodium is incredibly low at 17 mg/l. Keep in mind that results higher than 20 mg/l are reported to the health Department and M.O.E. every five years. Some residents do have Sodium restrictions in their diets due to heart problems. My biggest complaint would be that the chemical tests are from 2014 and the Sodium test from 2013. Also of course as with all these Annual Reports there are far too many Method Detection Limits (MDLs) that are far too high and could be masking the presence of industrial chemicals and or pesticides.

Well P6 is in Preston south of Bishop St. and the former Northstar Aerospace factory. All the test results are from 2011 and we are advised that the "System was off for all of 2015". What we are not advised in this report is that this system has been shutdown in its' entirety for the last four years ie. 2012-2015. What we are also not advised is that every other well in Cambridge is tested for Trichloroethylene (TCE) only once a year with the notable exception of the Middleton Wellfield (monthly). What the Region also fails to inform us the citizens is that well P6 was tested for TCE multiple times in 2010 and 2011. You'd almost think that they were expecting to get TCE hits just like they do at the Middleton Wellfield in Cambridge and the William St. Wellfield in Waterloo.

Finally not a whisper that the upgradient soil and groundwater is permeated with TCE courtesy of Northstar Aerospace and one of their neighbours. Yes pump and treat as well as In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) have been undertaken but unfortunately TCE is a DNAPL chemical and with or without more aggressive action this groundwater and nearby P6 may be toast forever. What right does the Region of Waterloo have to deny this information to the public? At what point in time did our governments become spin doctors and public relations consultants for industry?

REGION'S ANNUAL REPORT- MORE CAMBRIDGE WELLS

Today we're going to discuss wells G4, G5, G6 and G9. The G stands for Galt and G4 is located in the Blair area, G5 up near the former Ciba-Geigy, G6 further south along Franklin Blvd. and G9 much further south basically as far south as the Middleton wellfield only further east.

The G4 well supply consists of two wells namely G4 and G4A. Exactly as per 2014, G4 was again shut down for the entire year in 2015. No explanation is given. Several Cambridge wells have had sleeves installed in recent years allowing the wells to be drilled deeper into less contaminated zones. Both wells G4 and G5 were augmented by wells G4A and G5A in 2013. Since then well G4 has been shut down.

Well G4A found no industrial/agricultural contaminants above their Method Detection Limits (MDL). There are no results published in this report for either Chloramines ot Trihalomethanes (THMs) which are by-products of disinfection. This is despite the form having the THM column state ("Note: show latest average).

Well G5 consists of both G5 and G5A which came on-line allegedly in 2013 the same time as G4A. Here however it is the newer well G5A which is shut down constantly. While it is stated that only one well runs at a time, again there is no explanation as to why there are two wells at the same location and why they aren't sharing the duties. Sodium is at a ridiculously high level of 183 mg/l (parts per million) but wait a minute that's a 2013 reading. With a reading that high they should have up to date data not two year old data. Similarily the industrial chemicals are all 2014 test results. They are all below the MDLs which again are elevated for approximately a dozen compounds.

Well G6 also has test results from 2014 which may be legal but is disgraceful. Seriously why produce these "Annual Reports" if you're simply repeating the test results from the year before. The range of results for Chlorine was from .54 to 4.46 mg/l which is far in exceedance of the standard. That said it did not trigger an Adverse Incident Report allegedly because it was merely an "8 minute spike". Metalachlor was detected at .42 ppb which is not considered an exceedance but again this result was from 2014. It should be tested for annually as it has been found for years in this well most likely from the upgradient former Ciba-Geigy.

Well G9 is in a similar position as their test reults are mostly from 2014 and they too have an industrial compound for years in their water namely trichloroethylene (TCE). It is at 2 ppb and is coming from either or Rockwell, Allen-Bradley or possibly Long Mfg.. This too should be tested at least annually.

Both THMs and chloramines results should be published in each of these reports and is not. Similarily annual testing should be the rule not the exception. Ubiquitous compounds in groundwater such as Toluene and Xylenes should be included. NDMA should also be routinely tested for and results published. Finally all upgrades and significant expenditures on wells should be fully explained including the rationale for so doing. Lastly Method Detection Limits also require detailed explanation when they rise. This is our drinking water and these reports hide far more than they show. The provincial government through the Ministry of Environment are claiming transparency while doing the opposite.

MIDDLETON WELLFIELD IN CAMBRIDGE

Today we are going to look at one of the jewels in the Region of Waterloo's drinking water system. I indicated last year that the Middleton wellfield had to be the most expensive water produced throughout the tri cities and Townships. Two Annual Reports ago (2013) there was a $16 million upgrade using Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) in order to reduce industrial contamination. Last year's Annual Report (2014) indicated an additional $200,000 in maintenance and upgrades to some of the wells and the same thing again has occurred in this year's Report (2015). Keep in mind these expenditures especially the $16 Million are to remove Trichloroethylene (TCE) an industrial cleaner and degreaser from the public's drinking water. And still yet the Region and City of Cambridge resist telling us who the culprits are. The most readily apparent are Canadian General Tower (CGT) next door with a hint of a former local drycleaner also being a possibility.

This "jewel" of a wellfield provides approximately 45% of Cambridge's drinking water. There is some good news despite a very long history of significant industrial contamination with a toxic chemical (TCE). The Region are doing at least two things to mitigate TCE contamination. They are spending literally millions of dollars to reduce the concentrations and keep them below the current Ontario Drinking Water Standard of 5 parts per billion (ppb). Keep in mind the drinking standard in Ontario was much higher a couple of decades ago however today there are U.S. jurisdictions with standards in the 3 ppb. range. The second thing the Region are doing is diluting this water. A decade ago well G15 which is located south of the Middleton wellfield was considered a separate water source. For the last many years it has been pumped into the Middleton reservoir either for convenience or for dilution. Hence the concentrations in treated water from the Middleton Wellfield last year were between 1.2 and 1.9 ppb. .

Frankly I had expected that the AOP system would have done better. The conclusion I am coming to is that the raw water from these wells prior to treatment may have rising TCE concentrations. This isn't likely due to an ongoing dissolved source of TCE but far more likely due to TCE as DNAPL. DNAPL or Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid is essentially pure, undissolved TCE also known as free phase TCE, either stationery or slowly moving downhill under gravity. DNAPL can literally take decades to centuries to fully dissolve into groundwater. Either the TCE is dissolving faster than it was or it has flowed closer towards the pumping wells intake screens. This would occur as I mentioned under the influence of gravity as the free phase TCE moves downwards through the fractured bedrock aquifer closer to the intake screens of the five Middleton wells.

Good news would be the reduction in raw water bacteria levels. 2015 had zero E.Coli results and only 21 Total Coliform. This is an improvement. Turbidity and Chlorine levels are also better than they've been over the prior couple of years. Sodium unfortunately is still much too high at 141 mg/litre. Results greater than 20 mg/l are reported to the health department and M.O.E. every five years.

There are other inherent problems in the Region's Annual (drinking water) Reports but for me the most disappointing and potentially serious are the everchanging Method Detection Limits (MDLs). There is only one direction these should be going and that is downwards. In other words through scientific improvements in labratory testing we have and should continue to be able to test for and detect contaminants at lower and lower concentrations. Someone please explain to me why the reverse is happening with numerous contaminants in the Region of Waterloo's Annual Reports. The most striking example of this is Glyphosate otherwise known as "Roundup". This herbicide apparently is becoming ubiquitous in our groundwater due to its' use both in agriculture and residentially. A decade ago its' MDL was 10 ppb.. For the last many years the Region has been reporting Glyphosate concentrations as less than 25 ppb. (ie. < 25 ug/l). That is outrageous!

Indeed there are some contaminants whose MDLs have been reduced but there are yet others such as some chlorophenols with rising MDLs over the last several years. The most obvious interpretation of rising MDLs is simply that the reporting authority are attempting to hide increases in contaminants in our drinking water supply. As stated there are enough inherent problems with these reports already. Further deflection of water problems is not in the public interest but only serves the agenda of polluting industries and their political mouthpieces.