Grant: Industrial Research Chairs

Groundwater in sedimentary bedrock (i.e., bedrock aquifers) is the most important source of fresh water in Canada and globally; however, many of these aquifers are polluted due to a large variety of human activities. Chlorinated organic solvents are the most common industrial contaminant found in groundwater. Little is known about how subsurface conditions affect movement of these contaminants from source areas to receptors because of over-reliance on poor characterisation tools. Dr. Parker, with her NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Groundwater Contamination in Fractured Rock (held since 2007), has overcome these limitations using new technologies and detailed field and laboratory measurements applied to real contaminated sites. Dr. Parker and her research team show that pollutants move quickly from their source through rock fractures but are slowed by spreading into the bedrock pores accessed through many active fractures where they are sorbed to minerals and slowly degrade due to naturally occurring chemical and microbial reactions. Over many decades the plumes become stationary or even retreat back toward source areas. The next five years of research will use measurement and computer modeling insights to predict future conditions and rates of natural or enhanced remediation to hasten cleanup. Results will be useful for sedimentary rock aquifers worldwide, informing decisions regarding groundwater contamination threats to water supply wells and ecosystems, and how to protect both. This work enables reliable, cost-effective management and eventual cleanup of polluted sites and positions Canadians as world leaders in groundwater science, technology manufacturing, and resource protection. This is achieved through hands-on student training at real-world sites and improved methods and technologies for protecting a global resource that is critical for sustaining life and supports producing food and manufacturing.