Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction City of Calgary Nose Creek Landfill B. Marc Adams Sean Buckles Tom Dance Corey Colbran
Presentation Outline Nose Creek & Nose Creek Landfill Site Conditions and Data Needs 2008 Investigation Program Conclusions
Nose Creek & Nose Creek Landfill
Site Location West Nose Creek Nose Creek Mayland Heights ail t Tr Creek Nose Hill New Science Centre Nose Renfrew & Bridgeland/ Riverside rfoo Dee Bottomlands Park Bow River Tom Campbell s Hill Downtown Glenmore Reservoir Mayland Commercial/ Industrial Area Zoo North Parking Lot Memorial Drive City of Calgary Calgary Zoo Bow River
Nose Creek Landfill Background Landfilling occurred from as early as 1914 to early 1980s Official City facility ceased operation in 1967 Early activity and post-1967 period lacks documentation Oxbow lakes, stream channel, valley ravines, general low lying areas were filled Deposits of household and construction waste Renfrew & Bridgeland/ Riverside Tom Campbell s Hill Bottomlands Park New Science Centre Memorial Drive Zoo North Parking Lot Deerfoot Trail Nose Creek Calgary Zoo Bow River Mayland Heights Mayland Commercial/ Industrial Area
1924 ~2004
Site Conditions and Data Needs
Groundwater Investigations From early-1990s to 2006 41 monitoring wells west of Nose Creek GW impacts identified Inorganics (primarily Eco issue) Organics (primarily HH issue) Uncertainty Ultimate discharge area of landfill groundwater Nose Creek or Bow River? Attenuation as GW moves to Bow River is significant
Risk Assessments Screening Level Ecological and Human Health Risk assessment in 2007 Screening level assessment indicates potential Eco impact to Nose Creek Conservative assumptions need to be refined with further investigation Supplemental risk assessment needed
2008/09 Objectives Identify groundwater impacts reaching Nose Creek Horizontal and vertical delineation of groundwater impacts Define 3-D 3 D groundwater flow regime Identify GW quality adjacent to creek Identify GW-SW interaction Fill Soil Nose Creek Landfill Deposits Native Soils Bedrock
2008 Investigation Program
2008 Project Scope Seven (7) nested well locations screened in all hydrostratigraphic units to shallow bedrock Five (5) creek-side drive-point wells Two (2) staff gauges located in creek Comprehensive survey of all wells and gauges SITE PLAN FORTHCOMING HIGHLIGHTING MONITORING POINTS
Site Stratigraphy Stratigraphy variable across site Sand and silt (Fill) capping soils Waste and soil (Fill) up to 14.6 mbg Interlayered soils (Native) Silt/Clay ; Silt and Sand ; Gravel/Sand Mudstone, claystone, siltstone (Bedrock) 12m to 20m depth FILL NOSE CREEK BEDROCK WASTE/FILL SILT/SAND GRAVEL/SAND SILT/CLAY
Groundwater Flow Groundwater depth up to 19 m depth in west (shallower to east) Horizontal flow typically east and southeast towards Nose Creek and Bow River Groundwater relatively flat beneath Area 2 variable seasonally Bedrock flow generally to southeast
Groundwater Flow Horizontal gradients 0.001-0.01 Vertical Gradients Typically downward Upward at 2 locations Bedrock to gravel (Area 5) Gravel to waste (Area 2) Expected seasonal variability Average K values Surficial 10-6 m/s Sand and Gravel 10-4 m/s Bedrock 10-5 m/s
Groundwater Flow Complicating Factors to Flow Bow River base flow (Area 5) Nose Creek base flow (all areas) Storm events site runoff and river levels from upstream events Historic creek channels (in-filled) Complex stratigraphy and disturbance
Groundwater Flow Interaction with Nose Creek Recharge-discharge Expected to vary seasonally Expected to vary by site Area Fall 2008 Site groundwater discharging to Creek at north end Complex at RW08-02; 02; also area of flat water table Creek recharging groundwater from RW08-03 03 south (towards Bow River) RW08-01 RW08-02 RW08-03 RW08-04 RW08-05
Groundwater Flow Interaction with Nose Creek Data Loggers, March 2008 Data Loggers March 2009 1037 Groundwater Levels (March 2009) Levels varied 0.3 m over period Creek fluctuation (fall 2008 data) Level varied 0.56 m over period Mean discharge - 0.9 m 3 /s (max 13.5 m 3 /s) (Bow River avg. ~80 m 3 /s for period) Potential Site Discharge Conservative max 0.006 m 3 /s (~0.6% of river flow) Expect recharge/discharge to vary seasonally, and along reach of Creek Elevation (m) 1036.5 1036 1035.5 1035 Stage (m) 28-Feb 9-Mar Date 17-Mar 25-Mar Nose Elbow Creek River - - Fall 2008 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 1-Aug 16-Aug 31-Aug 15-Sep 30-Sep 15-Oct Date (2008) MW05-07 MW05-05 MW08-03B MW08-03S 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Flow (cms)
Groundwater Quality COPCs (groundwater) Compounds typically associated with MSW VOCs, PAHs, PHCs, dissolved metals, routine parameters Key indicator compounds Chloride to 2,200 mg/l Ammonia to 822 mg/l Vinyl Chloride to 75 ug/l
Site Interior Groundwater Quality Area 2/2A typically greater concentrations Concentrations typically attenuate with depth; greatest in waste layers Concentrations variable with depth and area Reducing, anoxic conditions beneath site Adjacent to Creek Concentrations typically less in river probes Reducing conditions noted (esp. Area 2/2A)
Creek Water Surface Water Quality Nitrite, cadmium, selenium concentrations typically > site groundwater PAHs adjacent to north end of site greater than detections in adjacent groundwater No VOCs or PHCs detected Sampled during normal flow Expected to be highly variable during run-off events
Groundwater Quality Chloride as a tracer? Chloride concentrations significantly reduced near Creek edge (order of magnitude, to max 220mg/L) Creek Chloride at 80 mg/l NH 4 correlates with Cl Chloride and ammonia do not correlate with VOC, PHC, PAH occurrence
Conclusions and Ongoing Activities
Conclusions Groundwater flow and discharge-recharge recharge relationships with Creek appear to vary across the site Groundwater impacts generally diminish in proximity of Creek
Conclusions GW and SW respond differently to seasonal condition changes, likely leading to GW-SW interaction at Nose Creek that changes direction over the course of the year Further data is needed to explore this conclusion Further instrumentation may be needed to focus more closely on the physical interaction between GW and SW at the site
Ongoing Activities Real time level monitoring Data loggers in wells AENV stream flow station Seasonal monitoring and quality assessment Supplemental risk assessment
Questions?