AquaResource Helps Avert OMB Hearing for Proposed Golf Course Development

AquaResource applied the state of the art groundwater flow model, FEFLOW, to evaluate the potential impacts of a golf course development on a local wetland.

As part of an impact assessment for a proposed golf course development within the Credit River Watershed, AquaResource developed a groundwater flow model to predict drawdown impacts on an adjacent wetland.  The model developed was extracted from the regional CVC Watershed model (right) and refined to incorporate detailed site data.  This approach provided an evaluation of local impacts, while maintaining the linkage between this local site and the regional setting. 

A state of the art model was developed using FEFLOW, extending from ground surface into the Georgian Bay Shale bedrock. The model was calibrated to observed water levels and discharge to the nearby creek, providing a realistic tool for evaluation of potential future conditions.

Quantification of potential pumping impacts was accomplished by simulating groundwater flow and drawdown extending from the pumping wells under a variety of proposed pumping and climatic conditions.  Advective flow paths, drawdown volumes and decreased stream discharge were used to quantify the degree impact generated by the pumping wells.  Constrained boundary conditions were used to represent the creek nodes to allow reduced discharge to ìdry-upî the creek where appropriate.  An uncertainty analysis was used to bracket the range of potential impacts, within the range of uncertainty in hydrogeologic parameters. The results of the analysis indicated that with the existing uncertainty in the hydraulic conditions, significant impacts to the wetland area were possible; the data provided by the proponent was insufficient and inconclusive.  In light of this new information, the proponent agreed to avert the scheduled Ontario Municipal Board hearings and perform the additional fieldwork necessary to observe physical impacts under proposed stress conditions.