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PREFACE TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE

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Results from the Quebec Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition

7

Program

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Marie Larocque1,2,*, Vincent Cloutier2,3, Jana Levison4, Eric Rosa2,3 9

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1

Département des sciences de la Terre et de l’atmosphère, Université du Québec à 11

Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada 12

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2

Centre de recherche GEOTOP, Montréal, Québec, Canada 14

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3

Groupe de recherche sur l’eau souterraine, Institut de Recherche en Mines et en Envi-16

ronnement, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Amos, Québec, Canada 17

18

4

School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada 19

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For the use of the editors

Paper #: Submitted on: Accepted on:

Application - Research – Commentary – Book Review: Copyright Held by:

T2012

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Groundwater is a crucial supply of freshwater worldwide. It is estimated that 23

groundwater represents more than one third of water withdrawals used for irrigation, 24

domestic, and manufacturing purposes (Döll et al. 2012). In Canada, about 30% of the 25

population (nearly 10 million inhabitants) depends on groundwater for their water supply 26

(CCA 2009). In the Province of Quebec, 20% of the population relies on groundwater for 27

its drinking water over 90% of the inhabited territory (MDDELCC 2018). 28

Globally, several pressures impact the state of groundwater ressources, including 29

urbanization, land and water uses, pollution and climate variability (WWAP 2009). The 30

intensification of industrial and agricultural activities, that can lead to contamination and 31

overexploitation, as well as natural climate variability and climate change, are threats to 32

Canada’s groundwater (CCA 2009; Rivera et al. 2004). It has been recognized at 33

different levels of organizations that the lack of knowledge on groundwater resources and 34

aquifers, as well as the difficulty in accessing water related data, are major obtacles to the 35

implementation of sustainable management of groundwater resources (Government of 36

Québec 2002; CCA 2009; WWAP 2009). 37

To face this challenge in the Province of Quebec, a unique and systematic program of 38

regional hydrogeological mapping, the Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition Program 39

(Programme d’acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines - PACES), was 40

implemented in 2008 by the Québec Ministry of the Environment (Ministère du 41

Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements

42

climatiques - MDDELCC) to ensure the protection and long-term sustainability of

43

groundwater resources (MDDELCC 2018). The proposed methodology for the PACES 44

program was based on the experience developed during previous hydrogeological 45

mapping projects in Quebec (pre-PACES projects; Figure 1), including the Portneuf 46

granular aquifers (Fagnan at al. 1999), the Basses-Laurentides fractured aquifer system 47

(Savard et al. 2013), the Châteauguay River Watershed (Nastev and Lamontagne 2010), 48

as well as the Basse and moyenne-Chaudière agricultural region (Tecsult 2008). 49

The general objective of the PACES was to provide an integrated portrait of the 50

groundwater resources of Quebec's municipal regions, both in terms of groundwater 51

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quantity and quality, to better protect and sustainably manage groundwater resources. A 52

total of thirteen regional hydrogeological mapping projects of PACES were completed 53

during the 2009-2015 period (Abitibi-Témiscamingue-1 and -2, Bécancour, Bas-Saint-54

Laurent, Charlevoix−Haute-Côte-Nord, Chaudière-Appalaches, Communauté 55

métropolitaine de Québec, Mauricie, Montérégie-Est, Nicolet−Saint-François, Outaouais, 56

Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean, Vaudreuil-Soulanges; Figure 1). These projects were led by 57

research teams from seven Quebec universities (Institut national de la recherche 58

scientifique centre Eau Terre Environnement - INRS-ETE, Université Laval, Université 59

du Québec à Chicoutimi-UQAC, Université du Québec à Montréal-UQAM, Université 60

du Québec à Rimouski-UQAR, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue-UQAT, 61

and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières-UQTR), in collaboration with regional 62

stakeholders (e.g. Regional Conference of Elected Officials, Conférence régionale des 63

élus – CRÉ); Regional County Municipalities, Municipalités regionals de comtés – MRC;

64

Watershed Organizations, Organismes de bassins versants – OBV), provincial (Ministry 65

of Ariculture, Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation – MAPAQ; 66

Ministry of Energy and Natural Ressources, Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources 67

naturelles – MERN) and federal (Natural Resources Canada) partners. A unique and

68

efficient inter-university collaborative approach was developed to share equipment and 69

services, co-supervise graduated students, and develop common protocols, from field 70

data acquisition to map production (Palmer et al. 2011). All the PACES projects thus 71

used uniform databases and similair methodologies for development of thematic maps, 72

allowing comparisons between regions. Four new projects were initiated in 2018, with 73

funding from the MDDELCC, and will use the same methodology, thus completing the 74

territory coverage in many regions of the Quebec Province (Figure 1; the new projects are 75

named ACES for Acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines). 76

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Figure 1. Location of completed and current groundwater characterization projects in the

79

Province of Quebec. The map illustrates the pre-PACES projects (PORT (dark 80

grey)/Portneuf; AFSOQ/Basses-Laurentides; CHAT/Châteauguay, and CHAUD-A (dark 81

grey)/Basse-Chaudière), the PACES projects from 2009-2015 (AT1 and AT2/Abitibi-82

Témiscamingue−1 and 2, BEC/Bécancour, BSL/Bas-Saint-Laurent, 83

CN/Charlevoix−Haute-Côte-Nord, CHAUD-A (light grey)/Chaudière-Appalaches, 84

CMQ/Communauté métropolitaine de Québec, MAUR/Mauricie, MONT/Montérégie-85

Est, NSF/Nicolet−Saint-François, OUT/Outaouais, SLSJ/Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean, 86

Vs/Vaudreuil-Soulanges), and the ACES projects that started in 2018 (KRT/Bas-Saint-87

Laurent-Témiscouata, ESTR/Estrie, LAUR-M/Laurentides, LANAU/Lanaudière, 88

MAUR-E/Mauricie-Est, and PORT (hatched)/Portneuf). 89

The collaborative approach between university researchers lead to the creation in 2011 of 90

the Quebec Groundwater Network (Réseau Québécois sur les Eaux Souterraines – 91

RQES; www.rqes.ca). The mission of the RQES is to consolidate and extend 92

collaborations between university researchers and the Québec Ministry of the 93

Environment, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, consultants, 94

educational institutions and additional organizations interested in groundwater, with the 95

objective of facilitating groundwater knowledge transfer to water managers. The PACES 96

projects allowed an unprecedented regional scale groundwater characterization of 97

southern Quebec. Nevertheless, despite this major advance, the adequate integration and 98

use of the hydrogeological information in land management remains a challenge, due to 99

the complexity related to data and map interpretation and to the lack of dedicated 100

knowledge transfer initiatives. To face this critical issue, the RQES developed a 101

knowledge exchange strategy that is based on a series of interactive workshops 102

undertaken in all the PACES regions. These workshops helped to optimize the adequate 103

use of quantitative hydrogeological data in land management with the objective of better 104

protecting groundwater resources (Ruiz 2016). 105

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The purpose of this Special Issue was to bring together a sample of the vast new 106

knowledge that was created by the PACES projects across the Province of Quebec 107

between 2009 and 2015. Many of the scientists who were involved in these projects have 108

responded positively to the invitation. This Special Issue contains ten contributions from 109

university researchers and private consultants on relevant topics such as aquifer geometry 110

and hydraulic properties, hydrogeochemistry and isotopic tracers, residence times, and 111

groundwater flow modelling. 112

The studied PACES regions are distributed over a large area of the meridional portion of 113

the Province of Quebec (Figure 1). The territory has highly diversified geology and 114

contrasting climate conditions, thus influencing the hydrogeology of the studied regions. 115

The projects cover three hydrogeolocal regions of Canada described by Rivera (2014): 1) 116

the Precambrian Shield, 2) the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and 3) the Appalachian. These 117

hydrogeological regions correspond to important geological domains of Québec, i.e. the 118

Superior and Grenville provinces, the St. Lawrence Platform, and the Appalachian 119

Province (MRN 2012). The last glaciation/deglaciation cycle, with the deposition of 120

unconsolidated sediments, the formation of proglacial lakes and marine invasions, had 121

major impacts on the shaping of the landscape, as well as on the hydrogeology and 122

hydrogeochemistry of the aquifer systems. Details of these geological contexts are 123

presented in the ten articles. The papers focus on three main components of aquifer 124

characterization, i.e. aquifer geometry (Légaré-Couture et al. 2018; Nadeau et al. 2018; 125

Walter et al. 2018), hydrogeochemistry and isotope tracers (Beaudry et al. 2018; Chaillou 126

et al. 2018; Rey et al. 2018), as well as groundwater flow modeling and particle tracking 127

(Gagné et al. 2018; Janos et al. 2018; Montcoudiol et al. 2018; Turgeon et al. 2018). The 128

paper by Walter et al. (2018) combines the topics of geometry and hydrogeochemistry. 129

In their characterization of the major aquifer systems in the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean 130

region (SLSJ), Walter et al. (2018) provide a comprehensive overview of the three phases 131

of a PACES project and of their outcomes, including defining the aquifer systems, 132

quantifying the hydrogeological properties, and characterizing groundwater quality in a 133

complex graben environment. The authors used their results to develop a conceptual 134

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aquifers in support of sustainable management of regional groundwater ressources. 136

Légaré-Couture et al. (2017) propose a methodology for building a three-dimensional 137

(3D) hydrostratigraphical model of the Quaternary deposits to define the main 138

hydrogeological contexts of granular aquifers that provide important water supplies for 139

most municipalities of the Mauricie region (MAUR). Based on this model, the authors 140

identified four main hydrostratigraphic units for the study area. This refines the 141

understanding of regional aquifers and contibuted to the identification of unexploited 142

aquifers around the Saint-Narcisse morainic complex and along the Saint-Cuthbert Fault. 143

Also focusing on groundwater resources within unconsolidated aquifers, Nadeau et al. 144

(2018) describe a newly developed GIS-based approach facilitating the development of a 145

stratigraphic sequence map for representing the architecture of aquifer– aquitard systems 146

at the regional scale in Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions 1 and 2 (AT1 and AT2). The 147

resulting stratigraphic sequence map was used to document the extent and volume of 148

regional aquifers, as well to build a conceptual model of regional groundwater flow 149

paths. The authors also dicussed the potential contibutions of the stratigraphic sequence 150

map as a tool to support political decision makers facing issues related to groundwater 151

resource protection and sustainable development. 152

Chaillou et al. (2018) present a regional groundwater hydrogeochemical portrait of the 153

Bas-Saint-Laurent region (BSL). The contrasting geology of this region comprises the 154

Appalachians and glacial Quaternary deposits set in close proximity to the coastal 155

environment of the St. Lawrence estuary. The authors used major and trace ions, as well 156

as stable isotopes of water and inorganic carbon to identify seven water facies. They 157

proposed a conceptual model of groundwater flow to explain the hydrogeochemical 158

evolution at the regional scale. Interestingly, their results suggest the absence of modern 159

seawater in the samples despite the proximity of the St. Lawrence estuary. Different 160

geological formations were studied by Beaudry et al. (2018) in the Montérégie region 161

including the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachian Piedmont and Uplands, and the 162

Monteregian Hills (MONT). Similarly to Chaillou et al. (2018), the authors used major 163

and trace ions, stable isotopes of water and carbon, as well as 14C and 3H to identify the 164

mechanisms controlling groundwater composition and to support the understanding of the 165

aquifer hydrodynamics. Their results provided indications of recharge zones, 166

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groundwater flow zones, and discharge zones. They have also identified an extensive 167

zone of brakish water originating from the Champlain Sea and located in the lower 168

portion of the study area. Rey et al. (2018) have focused on the Barlow-Ojibway Clay 169

Belt of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region which includes many esker and moraine 170

aquifers (AT1 and AT2). They have used stable isotopes of water and 3H to improve the 171

understanding of the regional groundwater flow system. The results were used to build a 172

regional-scale conceptual model which describes recharge, evaporation, mixing and 173

discharge processes. 174

Gagné et al. (2017) present a 3D model of groundwater flow for the Bécancour and 175

Nicolet watersheds in the Centre-du-Québec region (BEC and NSF). In this region, the 176

main aquifer is located in the sedimentary fractured bedrock and is overlain by till, sand 177

and clay from the Champlain Sea. The spatially distributed recharge was simulated 178

independently with a surface water budget approach. The steady-state MODFLOW 179

model (Harbaugh 2005) was calibrated using measured heads and baseflows with PEST 180

(Doherty 2015). The authors have shown that isotope-derived groundwater travel times 181

and major ion chemistry can be used to validate the model. Janos et al. (2018) developed 182

a vertical 2D steady-state flow model with the FLONET/TR2 numerical code (Molson 183

and Frind 2017), and calibrated it with PEST using measured heads for the Chaudière-184

Appalaches region (CHAUD-A). The model simulated groundwater ages that were used 185

to show that the area is dominated by local scale flow systems, thus confirming the 186

conceptual model identified using hydrogeochemical variables. The authors also 187

investigated the role of faults in disturbing groundwater age patterns. Montcoudiol et al. 188

(2017) have also used the FLONET/TR2 numerical code to simulate 2D steady-state 189

groundwater flow in the fractured bedrock of the Canadian Shield overlain by sand, 190

gravel and clay in the Outaouais region (OUT). Their model was calibrated using heads 191

and measured 3H values and helped to validate and update a conceptual model of 192

geochemical evolution. Turgeon et al. (2018) used the integrated the MikeSHE flow 193

model (DHI 2007) to simulate transient-state groundwater and surface water interactions 194

in the Raquette River watershed of the Vaudreuil-soulanges region (VS). The complex 195

geology of the watershed is composed of sedimentary bedrock and of the Rigaud 196

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using river flowates and heads and provided a good insight into the watershed surface and 198

groundwater flow. The authors identified areas of possible improvements in the model, 199

notably the explicit simulation of infiltration processes in the unsaturated zone. 200

The topics covered by this Special Issue do not address all the topics covered in the 201

PACES projects. Many other papers have been published in different journals on a wide 202

array of groundwater-related issues derived directly from the PACES projects or closely 203

linked to them. In terms of physical hydrogeology, the PACES related studies allowed 204

the development of methods to assess groundwater recharge (e.g. Gosselin et al. 2016; 205

Huet et al. 2016), to estimate transmissivity from specific capacity data (e.g. Richard et 206

al. 2014; Laurencelle and Lefebvre 2018) and to improve the spatial analysis of 207

piezometric data (e.g. Tremblay et al. 2015). Other studies allowed better highlighting the 208

role of groundwater in river flow or peatland-aquifer interactions (e.g. Ferlatte et al. 209

2015; Rosa et al. 2018). The use of groundwater geochemistry further allowed 210

assessment of chemical evolution of groundwater along flowpaths (e.g. Ghesquière et al. 211

2015; Montcoudiol et al 2015) and deciphering the processes influencing the occurrence 212

of geogenic arsenic in fractured bedrock aquifers (e.g. Bondu et al. 2017). Other studies 213

examining groundwater geochemistry focused on evaluating groundwater vulnerability 214

(e.g. Meyzonnat et al. 2016) and documenting the concentrations of emerging 215

contaminants such as pesticides and pharmaceutically active compounds in groundwater 216

(e.g. Saby et al. 2016). Studies focusing on the use of GIS further allowed the 217

development of a method for supporting groundwater protection in unconfined granular 218

aquifers (e.g. Nadeau et al. 2015), as well the development of sustainable groundwater 219

resource indicators to support knowledge transfer initiatives (Lefebvre et al. 2016). 220

Moreover, the PACES projects have provided large databases and new knowledge about 221

Québec aquifers. Many challenges now arise including, for example, how to maintain up-222

to-date databases, how to monitor groundwater quality and quantity over the long-term, 223

or how changing climate conditions and changing land use will impact groundwater 224

resources. The research is ongoing in many of these domains. 225

We believe that this Special Issue provides a valuable snapshot of the current, state-of-226

the-art knowledge on groundwater resources in the Province of Quebec. It summarizes 227

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new knowledge on groundwater availability, groundwater flow conditions, aquifer 228

recharge and groundwater quality that occur in this part of Canada. It also presents a 229

portrait of state-of-the art methods for aquifer characterization and how they can be used 230

in different geological settings. It is our hope that this Special Issue will be a reference 231

for hydrogeologists across the country and motivate the initiation of new research for a 232

better understanding of our groundwater resources. 233

Acknowledgements

234

This Special Issue has brought together hydrogeologists that were involved in the recent 235

Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition Program. We wish to thank the authors who have 236

contributed to advancing knowledge about groundwater resources in the Province of 237

Quebec. We acknowledge the financial contribution of the Quebec Ministry of the 238

Environment (Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte 239

contre les changements climatiques) through the Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition

240

Program (PACES), as well as the contribution of all the regional partners that were 241

involved in the projects. We also thank the reviewers who have contributed to the high 242

scientific level achieved by this Special Issue and all its comprising articles. 243

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(Canada). Science of the Total Environment 579:557-568. 367

Savard, M.M. (ed.) 2013. Canadian Inventory of Groundwater Resources: Integrated 368

regional hydrogeological characterization of the fractured aquifer system of

369

southwestern Quebec. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 587, 102 p.

370

doi:10.4095/291347. 371

Tecsult. 2008. Cartographie hydrogéologique du bassin versant de la rivière Chaudière - 372

Secteurs de la Basse-Chaudière et de la Moyenne-Chaudière. Étude réalisée dans le 373

cadre du Projet eaux souterraines de la Chaudière,. Sponsored by the Programme 374

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d’approvisionnement en eau Canada‐Québec (PAECQ) and managed by the Conseil 375

pour le développement de l’agriculture du Québec (CDAQ), 142 p. 376

Tremblay, Y., J.-M. Lemieux, R. Fortier, J. Molson, R. Therrien, P. Therrien, G. 377

Comeau, and M.-C. Talbot Poulin. 2015. Semi-automated filtering of data outliers 378

to improve spatial analysis of piezometric data. Hydrogeology Journal 23(5). 851-379

868. doi: 10.1007/s10040-015-1257-y. 380

Turgeon, F., M. Larocque, G. Meyzonnat, S. Dorner, and M.A. Bourgault. 2018. 381

Examining the challenges of simulating surface water – groundwater interactions in 382

a post-glacial environment. Canadian Water Resources Journal

383

doi:10.1080/07011784.2017.1414635. 384

Walter, J., A. Rouleau, M. Lambert, R. Chesnaux, and R. Daigneault. 2018. 385

Characterization of general and singular features of major aquifer systems in the 386

Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Canadian Water Resources Journal

387

doi:10.1080/07011784.2018.1433069. 388

WWAP (World Water Assessment Programme). 2009. The United Nations World Water 389

Development Report 3: Water in a Changing World. Paris: UNESCO ISBN:

978-9-390

23104-095-5, 429 p. 391

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Figure Caption

393

Figure 1. Location of completed and current groundwater characterization projects in the

394

Province of Quebec. The map illustrates the pre-PACES projects (PORT (dark 395

grey)/Portneuf; AFSOQ/Basses-Laurentides; CHAT/Châteauguay, and CHAUD-A (dark 396

grey)/Basse-Chaudière), the PACES projects from 2009-2015 (AT1 and AT2/Abitibi-397

Témiscamingue−1 and 2, BEC/Bécancour, BSL/Bas-Saint-Laurent, 398

CN/Charlevoix−Haute-Côte-Nord, CHAUD-A (light grey)/Chaudière-Appalaches, 399

CMQ/Communauté métropolitaine de Québec, MAUR/Mauricie, MONT/Montérégie-400

Est, NSF/Nicolet−Saint-François, OUT/Outaouais, SLSJ/Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean, 401

Vs/Vaudreuil-Soulanges), and the ACES projects that started in 2018 (KRT/Bas-Saint-402

Laurent-Témiscouata, ESTR/Estrie, LAUR-M/Laurentides, LANAU/Lanaudière, 403

MAUR-E/Mauricie-Est, and PORT (hatched)/Portneuf). 404

405 406

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Journal submission checklist:

407

The submitting author confirms that the manuscript conforms to the manuscript 408

guidelines and template provided by Canadian Water Resources Journal, including: 409

1. An explanation as to why you believe that your work will be of

interest to the water resources community in Canada [_X__] 2. Text citations and references conform to the journal style. Chicago 15th

B with variations as noted in the author template. [_X__] 3. Sections of the manuscript are unnumbered, headers conform to the

Journal template. [_X__]

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5. A Résumé or Abstract is provided in the other official language. [_NA__] 6. Figures are in grayscale [unless special arrangement have been

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7. One common font is used in all figures, and the font size will remain legible with reduction to a single column width [7.8cm]. Distinct symbols and line types are used to display information.

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9. A list of figure captions and the figures are at the end of the

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10. Separate versions of the figures in eps, tif, or Excel format are provided and these are numbered uniquely with the senior author’s surname.

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PREFACE TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE

412

Results from the Quebec Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition

413

Program

414

Marie Larocque1,2,*, Vincent Cloutier2,3, Jana Levison4, Eric Rosa2,3 415

416

1

Département des sciences de la Terre et de l’atmosphère, Université du Québec à 417

Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada 418

419

2

Centre de recherche GEOTOP, Montréal, Québec, Canada 420

421

3

Groupe de recherche sur l’eau souterraine, Institut de Recherche en Mines et en Envi-422

ronnement, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Amos, Québec, Canada 423

424

4

School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada 425

426

For the use of the editors

Paper #: Submitted on: Accepted on:

Application - Research – Commentary – Book Review: Copyright Held by:

T2012

427 428

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Groundwater is a crucial supply of freshwater worldwide. It is estimated that 429

groundwater represents more than one third of water withdrawals used for irrigation, 430

domestic, and manufacturing purposes (Döll et al. 2012). In Canada, about 30% of the 431

population (nearly 10 million inhabitants) depends on groundwater for their water supply 432

(CCA 2009). In the Province of Quebec, 20% of the population relies on groundwater for 433

its drinking water over 90% of the inhabited territory (MDDELCC 2018). 434

Globally, several pressures impact the state of groundwater ressources, including 435

urbanization, land and water uses, pollution and climate variability (WWAP 2009). The 436

intensification of industrial and agricultural activities, that can lead to contamination and 437

overexploitation, as well as natural climate variability and climate change, are threats to 438

Canada’s groundwater (CCA 2009; Rivera et al. 2004). It has been recognized at 439

different levels of organizations that the lack of knowledge on groundwater resources and 440

aquifers, as well as the difficulty in accessing water related data, are major obtacles to the 441

implementation of sustainable management of groundwater resources (Government of 442

Québec 2002; CCA 2009; WWAP 2009). 443

To face this challenge in the Province of Quebec, a unique and systematic program of 444

regional hydrogeological mapping, the Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition Program 445

(Programme d’acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines - PACES), was 446

implemented in 2008 by the Québec Ministry of the Environment (Ministère du 447

Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements

448

climatiques - MDDELCC) to ensure the protection and long-term sustainability of

449

groundwater resources (MDDELCC 2018). The proposed methodology for the PACES 450

program was based on the experience developed during previous hydrogeological 451

mapping projects in Quebec (pre-PACES projects; Figure 1), including the Portneuf 452

granular aquifers (Fagnan at al. 1999), the Basses-Laurentides fractured aquifer system 453

(Savard et al. 2013), the Châteauguay River Watershed (Nastev and Lamontagne 2010), 454

as well as the Basse and moyenne-Chaudière agricultural region (Tecsult 2008). 455

The general objective of the PACES was to provide an integrated portrait of the 456

groundwater resources of Quebec's municipal regions, both in terms of groundwater 457

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quantity and quality, to better protect and sustainably manage groundwater resources. A 458

total of thirteen regional hydrogeological mapping projects of PACES were completed 459

during the 2009-2015 period (Abitibi-Témiscamingue-1 and -2, Bécancour, Bas-Saint-460

Laurent, Charlevoix−Haute-Côte-Nord, Chaudière-Appalaches, Communauté 461

métropolitaine de Québec, Mauricie, Montérégie-Est, Nicolet−Saint-François, Outaouais, 462

Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean, Vaudreuil-Soulanges; Figure 1). These projects were led by 463

research teams from seven Quebec universities (Institut national de la recherche 464

scientifique centre Eau Terre Environnement - INRS-ETE, Université Laval, Université 465

du Québec à Chicoutimi-UQAC, Université du Québec à Montréal-UQAM, Université 466

du Québec à Rimouski-UQAR, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue-UQAT, 467

and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières-UQTR), in collaboration with regional 468

stakeholders (e.g. Regional Conference of Elected Officials, Conférence régionale des 469

élus – CRÉ); Regional County Municipalities, Municipalités regionals de comtés – MRC;

470

Watershed Organizations, Organismes de bassins versants – OBV), provincial (Ministry 471

of Ariculture, Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation – MAPAQ; 472

Ministry of Energy and Natural Ressources, Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources 473

naturelles – MERN) and federal (Natural Resources Canada) partners. A unique and

474

efficient inter-university collaborative approach was developed to share equipment and 475

services, co-supervise graduated students, and develop common protocols, from field 476

data acquisition to map production (Palmer et al. 2011). All the PACES projects thus 477

used uniform databases and similair methodologies for development of thematic maps, 478

allowing comparisons between regions. Four new projects were initiated in 2018, with 479

funding from the MDDELCC, and will use the same methodology, thus completing the 480

territory coverage in many regions of the Quebec Province (Figure 1; the new projects are 481

named ACES for Acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines). 482

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484

Figure 1. Location of completed and current groundwater characterization projects in the

485

Province of Quebec. The map illustrates the pre-PACES projects (PORT (dark 486

grey)/Portneuf; AFSOQ/Basses-Laurentides; CHAT/Châteauguay, and CHAUD-A (dark 487

grey)/Basse-Chaudière), the PACES projects from 2009-2015 (AT1 and AT2/Abitibi-488

Témiscamingue−1 and 2, BEC/Bécancour, BSL/Bas-Saint-Laurent, 489

CN/Charlevoix−Haute-Côte-Nord, CHAUD-A (light grey)/Chaudière-Appalaches, 490

CMQ/Communauté métropolitaine de Québec, MAUR/Mauricie, MONT/Montérégie-491

Est, NSF/Nicolet−Saint-François, OUT/Outaouais, SLSJ/Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean, 492

Vs/Vaudreuil-Soulanges), and the ACES projects that started in 2018 (KRT/Bas-Saint-493

Laurent-Témiscouata, ESTR/Estrie, LAUR-M/Laurentides, LANAU/Lanaudière, 494

MAUR-E/Mauricie-Est, and PORT (hatched)/Portneuf). 495

The collaborative approach between university researchers lead to the creation in 2011 of 496

the Quebec Groundwater Network (Réseau Québécois sur les Eaux Souterraines – 497

RQES; www.rqes.ca). The mission of the RQES is to consolidate and extend 498

collaborations between university researchers and the Québec Ministry of the 499

Environment, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, consultants, 500

educational institutions and additional organizations interested in groundwater, with the 501

objective of facilitating groundwater knowledge transfer to water managers. The PACES 502

projects allowed an unprecedented regional scale groundwater characterization of 503

southern Quebec. Nevertheless, despite this major advance, the adequate integration and 504

use of the hydrogeological information in land management remains a challenge, due to 505

the complexity related to data and map interpretation and to the lack of dedicated 506

knowledge transfer initiatives. To face this critical issue, the RQES developed a 507

knowledge exchange strategy that is based on a series of interactive workshops 508

undertaken in all the PACES regions. These workshops helped to optimize the adequate 509

use of quantitative hydrogeological data in land management with the objective of better 510

protecting groundwater resources (Ruiz 2016). 511

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The purpose of this Special Issue was to bring together a sample of the vast new 512

knowledge that was created by the PACES projects across the Province of Quebec 513

between 2009 and 2015. Many of the scientists who were involved in these projects have 514

responded positively to the invitation. This Special Issue contains ten contributions from 515

university researchers and private consultants on relevant topics such as aquifer geometry 516

and hydraulic properties, hydrogeochemistry and isotopic tracers, residence times, and 517

groundwater flow modelling. 518

The studied PACES regions are distributed over a large area of the meridional portion of 519

the Province of Quebec (Figure 1). The territory has highly diversified geology and 520

contrasting climate conditions, thus influencing the hydrogeology of the studied regions. 521

The projects cover three hydrogeolocal regions of Canada described by Rivera (2014): 1) 522

the Precambrian Shield, 2) the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and 3) the Appalachian. These 523

hydrogeological regions correspond to important geological domains of Québec, i.e. the 524

Superior and Grenville provinces, the St. Lawrence Platform, and the Appalachian 525

Province (MRN 2012). The last glaciation/deglaciation cycle, with the deposition of 526

unconsolidated sediments, the formation of proglacial lakes and marine invasions, had 527

major impacts on the shaping of the landscape, as well as on the hydrogeology and 528

hydrogeochemistry of the aquifer systems. Details of these geological contexts are 529

presented in the ten articles. The papers focus on three main components of aquifer 530

characterization, i.e. aquifer geometry (Légaré-Couture et al. 2018; Nadeau et al. 2018; 531

Walter et al. 2018), hydrogeochemistry and isotope tracers (Beaudry et al. 2018; Chaillou 532

et al. 2018; Rey et al. 2018), as well as groundwater flow modeling and particle tracking 533

(Gagné et al. 2018; Janos et al. 2018; Montcoudiol et al. 2018; Turgeon et al. 2018). The 534

paper by Walter et al. (2018) combines the topics of geometry and hydrogeochemistry. 535

In their characterization of the major aquifer systems in the Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean 536

region (SLSJ), Walter et al. (2018) provide a comprehensive overview of the three phases 537

of a PACES project and of their outcomes, including defining the aquifer systems, 538

quantifying the hydrogeological properties, and characterizing groundwater quality in a 539

complex graben environment. The authors used their results to develop a conceptual 540

model of regional hydrostratigraphic features and groundwater quality of the major 541

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aquifers in support of sustainable management of regional groundwater ressources. 542

Légaré-Couture et al. (2017) propose a methodology for building a three-dimensional 543

(3D) hydrostratigraphical model of the Quaternary deposits to define the main 544

hydrogeological contexts of granular aquifers that provide important water supplies for 545

most municipalities of the Mauricie region (MAUR). Based on this model, the authors 546

identified four main hydrostratigraphic units for the study area. This refines the 547

understanding of regional aquifers and contibuted to the identification of unexploited 548

aquifers around the Saint-Narcisse morainic complex and along the Saint-Cuthbert Fault. 549

Also focusing on groundwater resources within unconsolidated aquifers, Nadeau et al. 550

(2018) describe a newly developed GIS-based approach facilitating the development of a 551

stratigraphic sequence map for representing the architecture of aquifer– aquitard systems 552

at the regional scale in Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions 1 and 2 (AT1 and AT2). The 553

resulting stratigraphic sequence map was used to document the extent and volume of 554

regional aquifers, as well to build a conceptual model of regional groundwater flow 555

paths. The authors also dicussed the potential contibutions of the stratigraphic sequence 556

map as a tool to support political decision makers facing issues related to groundwater 557

resource protection and sustainable development. 558

Chaillou et al. (2018) present a regional groundwater hydrogeochemical portrait of the 559

Bas-Saint-Laurent region (BSL). The contrasting geology of this region comprises the 560

Appalachians and glacial Quaternary deposits set in close proximity to the coastal 561

environment of the St. Lawrence estuary. The authors used major and trace ions, as well 562

as stable isotopes of water and inorganic carbon to identify seven water facies. They 563

proposed a conceptual model of groundwater flow to explain the hydrogeochemical 564

evolution at the regional scale. Interestingly, their results suggest the absence of modern 565

seawater in the samples despite the proximity of the St. Lawrence estuary. Different 566

geological formations were studied by Beaudry et al. (2018) in the Montérégie region 567

including the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachian Piedmont and Uplands, and the 568

Monteregian Hills (MONT). Similarly to Chaillou et al. (2018), the authors used major 569

and trace ions, stable isotopes of water and carbon, as well as 14C and 3H to identify the 570

mechanisms controlling groundwater composition and to support the understanding of the 571

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groundwater flow zones, and discharge zones. They have also identified an extensive 573

zone of brakish water originating from the Champlain Sea and located in the lower 574

portion of the study area. Rey et al. (2018) have focused on the Barlow-Ojibway Clay 575

Belt of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region which includes many esker and moraine 576

aquifers (AT1 and AT2). They have used stable isotopes of water and 3H to improve the 577

understanding of the regional groundwater flow system. The results were used to build a 578

regional-scale conceptual model which describes recharge, evaporation, mixing and 579

discharge processes. 580

Gagné et al. (2017) present a 3D model of groundwater flow for the Bécancour and 581

Nicolet watersheds in the Centre-du-Québec region (BEC and NSF). In this region, the 582

main aquifer is located in the sedimentary fractured bedrock and is overlain by till, sand 583

and clay from the Champlain Sea. The spatially distributed recharge was simulated 584

independently with a surface water budget approach. The steady-state MODFLOW 585

model (Harbaugh 2005) was calibrated using measured heads and baseflows with PEST 586

(Doherty 2015). The authors have shown that isotope-derived groundwater travel times 587

and major ion chemistry can be used to validate the model. Janos et al. (2018) developed 588

a vertical 2D steady-state flow model with the FLONET/TR2 numerical code (Molson 589

and Frind 2017), and calibrated it with PEST using measured heads for the Chaudière-590

Appalaches region (CHAUD-A). The model simulated groundwater ages that were used 591

to show that the area is dominated by local scale flow systems, thus confirming the 592

conceptual model identified using hydrogeochemical variables. The authors also 593

investigated the role of faults in disturbing groundwater age patterns. Montcoudiol et al. 594

(2017) have also used the FLONET/TR2 numerical code to simulate 2D steady-state 595

groundwater flow in the fractured bedrock of the Canadian Shield overlain by sand, 596

gravel and clay in the Outaouais region (OUT). Their model was calibrated using heads 597

and measured 3H values and helped to validate and update a conceptual model of 598

geochemical evolution. Turgeon et al. (2018) used the integrated the MikeSHE flow 599

model (DHI 2007) to simulate transient-state groundwater and surface water interactions 600

in the Raquette River watershed of the Vaudreuil-soulanges region (VS). The complex 601

geology of the watershed is composed of sedimentary bedrock and of the Rigaud 602

Monteregian Hill, with till and thick sand and clay deposits. The model was calibrated 603

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using river flowates and heads and provided a good insight into the watershed surface and 604

groundwater flow. The authors identified areas of possible improvements in the model, 605

notably the explicit simulation of infiltration processes in the unsaturated zone. 606

The topics covered by this Special Issue do not address all the topics covered in the 607

PACES projects. Many other papers have been published in different journals on a wide 608

array of groundwater-related issues derived directly from the PACES projects or closely 609

linked to them. In terms of physical hydrogeology, the PACES related studies allowed 610

the development of methods to assess groundwater recharge (e.g. Gosselin et al. 2016; 611

Huet et al. 2016), to estimate transmissivity from specific capacity data (e.g. Richard et 612

al. 2014; Laurencelle and Lefebvre 2018) and to improve the spatial analysis of 613

piezometric data (e.g. Tremblay et al. 2015). Other studies allowed better highlighting the 614

role of groundwater in river flow or peatland-aquifer interactions (e.g. Ferlatte et al. 615

2015; Rosa et al. 2018). The use of groundwater geochemistry further allowed 616

assessment of chemical evolution of groundwater along flowpaths (e.g. Ghesquière et al. 617

2015; Montcoudiol et al 2015) and deciphering the processes influencing the occurrence 618

of geogenic arsenic in fractured bedrock aquifers (e.g. Bondu et al. 2017). Other studies 619

examining groundwater geochemistry focused on evaluating groundwater vulnerability 620

(e.g. Meyzonnat et al. 2016) and documenting the concentrations of emerging 621

contaminants such as pesticides and pharmaceutically active compounds in groundwater 622

(e.g. Saby et al. 2016). Studies focusing on the use of GIS further allowed the 623

development of a method for supporting groundwater protection in unconfined granular 624

aquifers (e.g. Nadeau et al. 2015), as well the development of sustainable groundwater 625

resource indicators to support knowledge transfer initiatives (Lefebvre et al. 2016). 626

Moreover, the PACES projects have provided large databases and new knowledge about 627

Québec aquifers. Many challenges now arise including, for example, how to maintain up-628

to-date databases, how to monitor groundwater quality and quantity over the long-term, 629

or how changing climate conditions and changing land use will impact groundwater 630

resources. The research is ongoing in many of these domains. 631

We believe that this Special Issue provides a valuable snapshot of the current, state-of-632

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new knowledge on groundwater availability, groundwater flow conditions, aquifer 634

recharge and groundwater quality that occur in this part of Canada. It also presents a 635

portrait of state-of-the art methods for aquifer characterization and how they can be used 636

in different geological settings. It is our hope that this Special Issue will be a reference 637

for hydrogeologists across the country and motivate the initiation of new research for a 638

better understanding of our groundwater resources. 639

Acknowledgements

640

This Special Issue has brought together hydrogeologists that were involved in the recent 641

Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition Program. We wish to thank the authors who have 642

contributed to advancing knowledge about groundwater resources in the Province of 643

Quebec. We acknowledge the financial contribution of the Quebec Ministry of the 644

Environment (Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et de la Lutte 645

contre les changements climatiques) through the Groundwater Knowledge Acquisition

646

Program (PACES), as well as the contribution of all the regional partners that were 647

involved in the projects. We also thank the reviewers who have contributed to the high 648

scientific level achieved by this Special Issue and all its comprising articles. 649

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References

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Beaudry, C., R. Lefebvre, C. Rivard, and V. Cloutier. 2018. Conceptual model of 651

regional groundwater flow based on hydrogeochemistry (Montérégie Est, Québec, 652

Canada). Canadian Water Resources Journal doi:XXXXX 653

Bondu, R., V. Cloutier, É. Rosa, and M. Benzaazoua. 2017. Mobility and speciation of 654

geogenic arsenic in bedrock groundwater from the Canadian Shield in western 655

Quebec, Canada. Science of the Total Environment 574 :509–519. 656

CCA (Council of Canadian Academies). 2009. The sustainable management of 657

groundwater in Canada – The expert panel on groundwater. Report prepared for the

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Government of Canada, Council of Canadian Academies, Ottawa, 270 pp. 659

Chaillou, G., M. Touchette, T. Buffin-Bélanger, C.A. Cloutier, B. Hétu, and M.A. Roy. 660

2017. Hydrogeochemical evolution and groundwater mineralization of shallow 661

aquifers in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Québec, Canada. Canadian Water 662

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DHI. 2007. Mike SHE user manual, Volume 1: User guide. Horsholm, 904 Danemark. 664

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Doherty, J. 2015. Calibration and Uncertainty Analysis for Complex Environmental 666

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Strassberg, and B.R. Scanlone. 2012. Impact of water withdrawals from 669

groundwater and surface water on continental water storage variations. Journal of 670

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Ferlatte, M., A. Quillet, M. Larocque, V. Cloutier, S. Pellerin, and C. Paniconi. 2015. 675

Aquifer-peatland connectivity in southern Quebec (Canada). Hydrological 676

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Gagné, S., M. Larocque, D.L. Pinti, M. Saby, G. Meyzonnat, and P. Méjean. 2017. 678

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Ghesquière, O., J. Walter, R. Chesnaux, and A. Rouleau. 2015. Scenarios of groundwater 683

chemical evolution in a region of the Canadian Shield based on multivariate 684

statistical analysis. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 4: 246-266. 685

Gosselin, J.S., C. Rivard, R. Martel, and R. Lefebvre. 2016. Application limits of the 686

interpretation of near-surface temperature time series to assess groundwater 687

recharge. Journal of Hydrology 538: 96-108, doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.055. 688

Government of Québec 2002. Québec Water Policy. Bibliothèque nationale du Québec, 689

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Harbaugh, A. W. 2005. MODFLOW-2005, the U.S. Geological Survey modular ground-691

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Huet, M., R. Chesnaux, M.A. Boucher, and C. Poirier. 2016. Comparing various 694

approaches for assessing groundwater recharge at the regional scale in the Canadian 695

Shield. Hydrological Sciences Journal 61(12):2267-2283. 696

Janos, D., J. Molson, and R. Lefebvre. 2018. Regional groundwater flow dynamics and 697

residence times in Chaudière-Appalaches, Québec, Canada: Insights from numerical 698

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Laurencelle, M. and R. Lefebvre R. 2018. Inferring regional-scale vertical profiles of 701

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transmissivity data affected by well-drillers' sampling bias. Abstract EGU2018-703

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Lefebvre, R., C. Rivard, M.A. Carrier, M. Parent, M. Laurencelle, C. Beaudry, A. Martin, 705

J. Bleser, R. Lavoie, É. Bourque, and M. Ouellet. 2016. Conceptual models and 706

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