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.