Truths and Misconceptions about Pender

Truths and Misconceptions
about Pender Islands
Groundwater: Planning for
the Future
Dr. James D. Henderson
October 10, 2015
Why Small Islands ?
Why the Penders?
TRUTHS
1)Water runs downhill
2)Freshwater floats on saltwater
3)Province of B.C. owns all groundwater
4)Only fresh water source is rainfall
GROUNDWATER ISSUES
Drought
Saline intrusion/Other contamination
Water well interference
Seismicity
Lack of alternative natural water sources
Time frame
Changing legislation
Conceptual Model for Groundwater
Management
Evaluation
Physical Setting
Climate
Geology
Geophysics
Re-Evaluation
Contamination
Drought
Seismicity
Institutional
Risk
Legal
Governance
Monitoring
Prescriptive Approach to Physical
Setting Investigations
Approach
Objective
Airphoto Interpretation
Vegetation types, geologic structure, bedrock lithology, surface
water sources, geomorphology, topography, land use
Remote Sensing
Vegetation type, geologic structure, bedrock
geomorphology, surface water sources, topography
Geologic Mapping
Geologic structure, bedrock lithology,
geomorphology, hydrogeologic properties
Geophysical Investigations
Geologic structure, bedrock lithology, soil type, hydrogeologic
properties, saline water delineation
Water well data
Soil type and thickness, bedrock lithology and thickness, water
bearing horizons, groundwater flow rates, groundwater levels
Climatic data
Precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration
Laboratory data
Water quality, bedrock porosity and permeability
surficial
lithology,
geology,
Interaction of Natural Processes
Climate
Geology
Anthropogenic
Soils
Ecosystem
Hydrology
CLIMATE
Water Balance Equation
Inputs = Outputs + Changes in Storage
Revised Water Balance Equation
P = R +/- O +/- G +/- S +/- I +/- C +/- M + E
Relationship between climate and water
resource management
CLIMATE
WATER
RESOURCES
WATER
MANAGEMENT
WATER AND LAND
USES
Ye a r
2000
1995
1990
1985
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
1955
1950
1945
1940
1935
1930
1925
P recip itatio n , m m
Annual precipitation, 1925 – 2002
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
140
120
100
mm
A verag e M o n th ly P recip itatio n ,
Average monthly precipitation
80
60
40
20
0
A pr M ay Jun
Jul
A ug S ept O c t
M o n th
N ov D ec
Jan
F eb
M ar
Months of Below 60% Normal Precipitation
Year
1925
May, June, July, September, October, November
1926
May, June, August, October, January, February
1928
September, October, November, January
1929
July, August, September, November, December
1935
April, May, June
1942
August, September, October, January, February
1943
June, September, November, December, January, February, March
1944
April, May, June, July, August, September
1952
May, July, August, September, October, November
1956
April, May, July, November
1978
June, July, October, December, January, March
1985
July, August, September, November, December
1987
June, July, August, September, October, February
1993
August, September, October
1994
July, August
1995
May, September
1996
June, July
1998
April, August, September, October
1999
May, September
2000
April, August, February
2002
June, July, August, September, October, November
Month
% Below .8 % Below .6 of
Monthly
Average
Precipitation, of Average
Average
Precipitation
mm
Precipitation Precipitation Range, mm
April
43.6
31
23
5.3 – 100.0
May
35.6
46
33
8.1 – 112.8
June
32.4
47
34
0 – 134.1
July
21.2
54
44
0 – 101.1
August
26.7
52
43
0 – 112.3
September
35.6
46.4
36.6
0.6 – 94.2
October
80.1
46.4
31.9
15.0 – 187.2
November
119.6
39
27.6
25.7 – 249.0
December
129.8
33.3
14.6
10.5 – 267.7
January
123.2
49
20.9
22.1 – 294.9
February
84.8
40
28.3
12.7 – 189.0
March
70.2
35.7
23.8
6.9 – 135.6
AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE
Average Monthly Temperature, C
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Month
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
DRYING INDEX
GEOLOGY
FACTORS INFLUENCING
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
• texture and gradation of surface and near
surface deposits and their vertical permeability
• nature and consumptive use of the vegetative
cover
• frequency, intensity and volume of rainfall
• soil moisture content
• topography
• temperature.
from: Islands Trust Groundwater Toolkit, 2014
WATER AVAILABILITY, REQUIREMENT
AND USE
• Protection of aquatic and wetland habitat
• High well development
• Management of extreme events (drought,
flood, etc.)
• Excessive extraction from surface and
ground waters
• Climate change
• Safe drinking water supply
• Land use
Geophysical
Measurements
Objectives of Geophysics
• Freshwater/saltwater contact
• Bedrock depth and degree of
fracturing
• Fault Location
• Variability of soil type and
thickness
Southlands Drive Geophysical Section
50000
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
Possible Buried Channel Location
0
200
0
100
90
Water Table
-5
-10
-10
-15
Competent Bedrock Surface
-20
-15
-20
-25
-25
-30
-30
250
80
Depth, metres
Depth, metres
-5
70
60
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
Chainage, metres
150
160
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
240
7
3
1
-500
Modelled Resistivity
(Ohm-metres)
Ghyben-Hertzberg Equation
hs = (Pf / (Ps-Pf))(hf)
Conceptual Groundwater Flow Model
Medicine Beach
Fresh Water
Be d
rock
Ocean
Groundwater Flow
Fresh Water
Salt Water
POPULATION GROWTH
Pender Census 2001
1,776
Pender Census 2006
2,181
Pender Census 2013
2,236
VIHA Projection 2033
2,840
Land Use, North Pender Island
Rural Residential
Rural
Agriculture
Protected
Commercial
Institutional
H istogram of Wate r We ll P roduction, N orth P e nde r
80
60
W ells
N u m b er o f W ater
Island
40
20
0
0.5
1.5
3
5
10
20
30
W a te r W e ll P ro d u ctio n , g a l/m in
50
Water Well Statistics – North Pender
All producing wells
Range
Minus 41 best producing wells
0 to 378.5 lpm (100 gpm)
0 to 45.4 lpm (12 gpm)
Number of wells
504
463
Total Production
9019.7 lpm (2383 gpm)
4802.5 lpm (1268.8 gpm)
Average
17.87 lpm (4.72 gpm)
10.18 lpm (2.69 gpm)
Median
7.57 lpm (2 gpm)
7.57 lpm (2 gpm)
32.3 lpm (8.5 gpm)
9.43 lpm (2.49 gpm)
Standard deviation
Groundwater Basins – North Pender
Water Supply Systems, North Pender
OW283
SHORT BREAK
Land Use
South Pender Island
Rural Residential
25%
48%
8%
Agriculture
Forest Land Reserve
Protected
17.5%
Commercial
Number of Water Wells
Histogram of Water Well Production
South Pender Island
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0.5
1.5
3
5
10
20
30
Water Well Production, gal/min
50
Water Well Statistics, South Pender
All producing
Minus 14 best
wells
producing wells
0 to 378.5 lp
0 to 31.42 lpm (8.3
(100gpm)
gpm)
156
142
Average
15.1 lpm (4 gpm)
5.87 lpm (1.55 gpm)
Median
3.79 lpm (1 gpm)
3.79 lpm (1 gpm)
45.8 lpm (12.1 gpm)
5.87 lpm (1.55 gpm)
Range
Number of
wells
Standard
deviation
Groundwater Basins
South Pender Island
Storage Capacity Table
South Pender Island
Groundwater
Basin
Area
Bedrock
Formations
Primary
Porosity
Storage Capacity
SP-I
2.4 km2
De Courcy
3.9 %
1.87 x 1010 litres
4.94 x 109 gallons
SP-II
km2
De Courcy,
Cedar,
Protection
3.7 %
1.69 x 1011 litres
4.47 x 1010 gallons
0.56
km2
Protection,
Pender,
Extension
4.4 %
8.06 x 108 litres
2.13 x 108 gallons
2.36
km2
5.6 %
1.82 x 1010 litres
4.81 x 109 gallons
SP-III
SP-IV
2.8
Extension
Groundwater Basins
South Pender Island
SP-I
SP-II
SP-III
SP-IV
Schematic of
groundwater
resource
management at the
groundwater basin
level for South
Pender Island
INSTITUTIONAL
Governing Groundwater
• Federal
Pender Island Indian Reserve
Greenburn Park
North Pender National Parks
• Provincial
• Local
FEDERAL JURISDICTION
 Interprovincial water issues
 Agriculture
 Significant national water issues
 Health
 Navigation
 International water issues
 Fisheries and Oceans
PROVINCIAL JURISDICTION
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ministry of Environment
Ministry of Natural Resources Operations
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Transportation and Highways
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Forests
Ministry of Municipal Affairs
Ministry of Community Services
Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture
Capital Regional District
LOCAL JURISDICTION
The Trust Committee shall:
•Support a combination of local water supply systems;
•Support water conservation and education;
•Sources of drinking water shall be protected through
regulation;
•Use and setbacks of buildings and other improvements
shall be regulated to protect wells;
•The quality of domestic water supplies and community
water systems should be monitored regularly. Use of
water saving devices is encouraged;
WATER MANAGEMENT AND
INSTITUTIONS
Coordination and consistency
Lack of data for decision making
Effective monitoring
Capturing a regional perspective
Respective roles of federal, provincial
and local agencies
Respective roles of projects and
programs
WATER MANAGEMENT AND
INSTITUTIONS
• Financing and cost sharing
• Information and education
• Appropriate levels of regulation and
deregulation
• Water rights and permits
• Infrastructure
• Population growth
• Water resource planning
ISLANDS TRUST ROLE IN GROUNWATER
SUSTAINABILITY
• Ensure that rainwater is returned to streams and aquifers;
• Protect headwaters, riparian areas and other vulnerable
aquifer recharge areas;
• Prevent groundwater contamination by limiting and regulating
potentially polluting uses over aquifers and in groundwater
recharge areas through zoning;
• Direct development to appropriate locations where the
sufficiency of groundwater for domestic or commercial uses has
been thoroughly assessed on a watershed scale before
development occurs;
• Regulate storage and application of fertilizers and compost;
• Obtain information about the location of existing and new
wells (including geothermal wells) when new development
occurs; and
• Develop well protection plans.
examples of effective OCP policy areas for
aquifer and groundwater protection:
• Protect aquifers
by establishing development permit areas
that require buffer zones and site specific attention through
permitting prior to development.
• Designate aquifer protection zone(s) and development permit
areas for which studies may be required.
• Commit the Local Trust Committee to an integrated water
management planning approach that will coordinate action on
the community water supply, rainwater management, green
infrastructure and government regulations
examples of effective OCP policy areas
for aquifer and groundwater protection:
• Specify
site design that maintains natural hydrologic
cycles, including performance based measures such as
managing rain water on site and no net increase in post
development flows.
• Encourage cluster development that minimizes
impervious surfaces and other impacts across the
landscape.
• Direct LTCs to encourage communities to practice
water conservation and protection.
Land Use Bylaw - Zoning
• Regulates
use and density of property to direct
development away from groundwater-limited or aquifer
recharge areas
• Can limit lots sizes to reduce density in groundwater
scarce areas
• Can prohibit potentially polluting uses in areas where
aquifers must be protected.
Land Use Bylaw - Zoning
• Sets
standards on aspects of development that will
have an impact on the water resources on the site or in
an area (e.g. setbacks from riparian areas)
• Can encourage groundwater sensitive development
by clustering development through rezoning and
possibly utilizing density bonus provisions.
• Can leverage habitat protection or water-efficient
amenities when rezoning.
Zoning can regulate development by:
• Directing development to appropriate
locations;
• Requiring development to be setback from
riparian areas;
• Limiting the total impermeable site coverage;
• Establishing appropriate lot sizes;
• Limiting density;
• Requiring appropriate drainage; and
• Prohibiting potentially polluting uses in areas
where aquifers must be protected.
The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
shall be encouraged to:
 Storage of rainwater to supplement water supply
for household use, fire protection and irrigation
is encouraged;
 To reduce the risk of flood damage, all buildings
shall be situated in accordance with provincial
standards.
The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks
shall be encouraged to:
a) monitor the quantity and quality of water supplied
from the groundwater systems;
b)administer well drilling activities and the tapping
of watershed and aquifer resources;
c) establish limits on the number of wells authorized
in relation to known water supply volumes;
 Not less than 2045 litres/day/lot, shall be proven
available prior to subdivision approval or the
issuance of building permits;
B.C. Auditor General 2010
1) Is the MOE’s information about groundwater
sufficient to ensure the sustainability of the
resource?
Information insufficient!
B.C. Auditor General 2010 cont’d
2) Is groundwater being protected from depletion
and contamination and to ensure the viability of
the ecosystems it supports?
Not being protected!
3) Is groundwater access being controlled and do
key organizations have the authority needed to
take appropriate local responsibility?
Control over access inadequate!
Lack adequate authority!
Aquifer Characterization Report 2012
Population of Gulf Islands reliant on groundwater is
low relative to other high priority aquifers. However,
the low yielding fractured bedrock, coastal setting,
and other known concerns have elevated some of
the islands as a priority area.
Southern Gulf Islands ranked as 10th
priority out of top 20
Living Water Smart
1) Water laws will improve the protection of
ecological values, provide for more community
involvement, and provide incentives to be water
efficient.
Who determines ecological values?
What are the incentives?
How will community become more involved?
Only works if laws enforced.
2) Legislation will recognize water flow
requirements for ecosystems and species
Ecosystems are constantly evolving
3) Government will regulate groundwater use in
priority areas and large groundwater withdrawals
How?
4) New approaches to water management will
address the impacts from a changing water cycle,
increased drought risk and other impacts on
water caused by climate change.
5) The Groundwater Protection Regulation will
protect the quality and quantity of our
groundwater
How?
Risks
•
•
•
•
•
Contamination
Earthquakes
Flooding
Changing Legislation
Drought
• Individual Water Wells
• Water Systems
• Fire Protection
How to Increase Water Supply
Methods of Water Use Efficiency
Water conservation, recycling, water
Scientific and
saving technology including retrofitting,
Technical
leakage control, crop variety, cropping
patterns, crop breeding, crop substitution
Economic
Subsidies, incentives, tax and price policy,
tariffs
Legal and
Water law, water rights, licenses,
Administrative
regulations, penalties, enforcement
Operational
Operating rules, water allocations
Educational
Political
Capacity building, awareness raising,
media, communication
Priorities, objectives
Savings per household from changing to water
efficient fixtures
Fixture
Showerhead2
ClothesWasher3
Dishwasher4
Toilet5
Faucet6
Rate of Use,
Rate of
Rate of
1970
Use, 1992
Use, 2003
10 litres/min
6 litres/min
4 litres/min
54312 litres
N/a
8 litres/min
6 litres/min
9052 litres
40
26
litres/load
litres/load
N/a
20 litres/
flush
19
6 litres/flush
6
3.8 litres/
flush
2
litres/min litres/min litres/min
Annual Savings 1970-2003
4380 litres
77424 litres
153884 litres
Comparison Water System Costs, 2005
Location
Magic Lake
Estates
Razor Point
Road
Trincomali
Greater
Victoria
Vancouver
Calgary
(metered)
(unmetered)
$189.00
Nil
Average
Annual
Cost
$189.00
$200.00
Nil
$200.00
190.00
$94.45
Nil
$0.7048
$190.00
$314.60
Nil
$271.00
$0.9015/m3
Nil
$389.49
$540.00
Consumption
Fixed Charge
Charge
Flat annual rate
per single
family residence
$119.04
$540.00
Community Planning
Risk
Physical Setting
Governance
Conceptual Model for
Water Management and
Community Planning
Contamination
Drought
Institutional
Seismicity
Legal
Airphoto
Geophysics
Geology
Climate
Recommendations
• Island wide water education program
• Improved water well database (in progress)
• New water well record format (in progress)
• Local trustees push for groundwater legislation
(basically done but unsure of local trustees role)
• Election of provincial representatives supporting
groundwater legislation
• Island wide emergency response plan for droughts,
floods, earthquakes and fire
• Mandate increase in rainwater harvesting
Recommendations
• Water meters
• Promotion of use of directional drilling
• Water quality testing on annual basis
• Limit number of tourists
• Adaptation of building codes to promote rainwater
collection, use of water saving devices and use of
gray-water
• Strict enforcement of well head protection measures
around best producing water wells
• Regulation of pumping rates for water wells
Benefits to Approach
• Reduction of inter-agency conflict
• Development of emergency response plans
• Following of user pay principle
• Use of groundwater basins for resource
management
• Logical approach to community planning
(collaborative process)
• Promotion of community interest over self-interest
Barriers to Approach
• Lack of inter-agency cooperation
• Resistance to user pay principle
• Consensus may not be achievable
• Requirement for additional management level
• Requirement for regular involvement of
hydrogeologist
• Lack of political will
• Lack of community involvement
Barriers to Policy Implementation
• Lack of technical expertise of policy
makers
• Lack of communication between earth
scientists and policy makers
• Disciplinary versus interdisciplinary
viewpoints
• Lack of understanding of politics by earth
scientists
THANK YOU!

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