Reports
Microbial Contamination Control Plan
(Interim Wellhead Protection
Measures Plan)
For
Township of North Stormont
Village of Crysler
Municipal
Groundwater Supply Wells 
As a result of the water supply tragedy of Walkerton, Ontario and at
the request of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the Township of
North Stormont is investigating the reliability and future source
protection of the municipal water supply for the Village of Crysler,
Ontario.
Study Site
The Village of Crysler is located within the Township of North
Stormont, United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, in
Southeastern Ontario. The Village of Crysler municipal well site is
located 5 kilometres east of the Village of Crysler along County Road 13.
Access to the municipal well site is obtained by a dirt road running south
from County Road 13. The municipal wells and treatment system are operated
by Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA).
Site Description
The Village of Crysler municipal well site is bordered by operating
licensed aggregate sand pits to the south, rural land to the north,
rural/agricultural and a private sand pit to the east, and a tree farm to
the west. Neighbouring land use within the extent of the broader study
area consists primarily of farmland and rural land with some aggregate
extraction areas.
The Village of Crysler production well site lies over a buried esker
ridge consisting of melt water derived glaciofluvial sand and gravel
deposits that coarsen toward the core of the esker body. The esker complex
has a north-south trending axis that has been traced in varying forms to
the south at the Village of Finch, a distance of some 16 kilometres. In
the study area, the esker complex is up to 700 metres wide and has an
average thickness of 12.7 metres, ranging from 8.1 metres to 18.9 metres.
Offshore Marine deposits of blue-grey clay and silt are located to the
east and west of the esker deposit. The clay and silt deposits overly the
flanks of the buried esker ridge, thinning out toward the esker complex
core.
A second local aquifer is found below the esker complex aquifer. A
Municipal Groundwater Study for the Township of North Stormont was
prepared by Robinson Consultants et al. in October, 2003 (EOWRC Report),
in which they modelled the regional 'Contact Zone Aquifer'. The 'Contact
Zone Aquifer' is comprised of the basal glacial sediment layer and the
weathered shaley limestone bedrock of the Verulam Formation (Williams,
1991).
Surface Water Concerns
- A potential for microbial contamination impact exists
due to the vulnerability of the sand and gravel aquifer in which the
municipal wells are located; and
- the nature of the surrounding land use activities,
including a neighbouring sand and gravel pit operation, licensed to
extract beneath the water table within 60 metres of the production
wells, puts the municipal wells at risk of losing their in situ
filtration capability.
Due to the potential vulnerability of the sand and gravel aquifer from
which the municipal wells draw their water a groundwater, the Crysler
municipal wells may be under direct influence of surface water.
Rationale
As a result the Ontario Ministry of the Environment issued a new
Certificate of Approval 6160-62VLJG, dated August 27, 2004, for the
operation of the water supply. However, a condition of the new certificate
was the development of a Microbial Contamination Control Plan (MCCP) for
the site. The purpose of the MCCP was to establish protective measures
that will ensure the continuance of the water supply for future
generations.
Findings to Support Rationale
GUDI (groundwater under direct influence of surface water) assessment
(WESA, 2002) and an Effective in Situ Filtration Assessment (WESA 2003)
concluded that the Village of Crysler production wells are GUDI wells,
that had adequate in situ filtration at the time of testing.
MCCP Guidance Document
The MCCP was developed based on the MOE Guidance Document entitled
"Development of Microbial Contamination Control Plans for Municipal
Groundwater Supply Wells under Direct Influence of Surface Water with
Effective In situ Filtration" dated January 2004.
MCCP Objective
To minimize aquifer disturbance and microbial contaminant loading to an
aquifer in close proximity to GUDI wells relying on in situ
filtration for the removal of suspended particulate matter. This is
required in the absence of chemically assisted filtration.
MCCP Components
- Delineate microbial risk management zones.
- Inventory and rank the risk of existing and potential
activities that might affect the in situ filtration capability of
the aquifer.
- Inventory and rank the risk of existing and potential
sources of microbial contamination.
- Identify measures to protect well(s) from microbial
contamination and to protect the in situ filtration capability of
the aquifer.
- Develop appropriate monitoring and contingency plans.
- Establish a schedule for the implementation of the
microbial contamination control measures.
Delineation of Microbial Risk Management Zones (MRMZs)
The Microbial Risk Management Zones (MRMZ)s of greatest concern to be
delineated are i) the 0 to 50 day TOT and ii) the 50 day to 2 year TOT.
This is due to the limited life span of most microbial threats (E. Coli
for instance is estimated to survive for less than 50 days).
Over the last few months, the Township of North Stormont has developed
a well protection strategy plan for the Village of Crysler production
well(s) site. The MCCP encompasses a 2 kilometre radius area surrounding
the Municipal well(s) site. The primary focus is a 900 m radius
(approximate) around the Municipal well(s), as well as key areas
north-northeast and south-southwest of the municipal well site along the
esker deposit that is the primary recharge area of the well water
supply.
An analytical equation, Bear and Jacobs (Hydrology, 1965) was used to
develop microbial risk management zones (MRMZs) for the Crysler site
within the boundaries of the esker complex.
The MCCP for the Crysler site incorporates all required components. A
copy of the Crysler Water Supply Site's Microbial Contamination Control
Plan is available for viewing at the municipal office in Berwick, Ontario,
as well as at the local branch of the municipal library in the Village of
Crysler, Ontario.
Groundwater Task Force
A recommendation of the MCCP document was the establishment of a
groundwater task force to implement the well head protection strategy
proposed to protect the municipal water supply. A task force was set up by
the Township in August 2005, consisting of members representing the
following organizations;
- Township of North Stormont Municipal Council;
- Ontario Clean Water Agency;
- South Nation Conservation Authority;
- Township of North Stormont agricultural community, and;
- Township of North Stormont municipal staff.
For Further Information:
Any questions concerning the Crysler Municipal Well Site and the MCCP
document can be directed to the Groundwater Task Force at:
Township of North Stormont
P.O. Box 99,
2 Victoria
Street,
Berwick, ON,
K0C 1G0
Telephone:(613) 984-2821
Fax:
(613) 984-2908
Email: kmcpherson@northstormont.ca | 
