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PREFACE TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE

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Groundwater – Surface Water Interactions in Canada

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Marie Larocque1 and Stefan Broda2,3 8

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1

Centre de recherche GÉOTOP, département des sciences de la Terre et de l’atmosphère, 10

Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2C 3P8 11

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2

Research Institute on Mines and the Environment, Polytechnique Montreal, C.P. 6079, 13

succ. Centre-ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3A7 14

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3

Now at Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Berlin, 16

Germany 17

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For the use of the editors

Paper #: Submitted on: Accepted on:

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

T2012 19

Canada is a water-rich country. Its rivers and lakes comprise 7% of the global annually 20

renewable surface freshwater supply (Rivera 2014). Although it is very difficult to 21

quantify available groundwater resources, it is estimated that there is more groundwater 22

in Canadian aquifers than surface water in rivers and lakes, similar to what is observed 23

elsewhere (Rivera 2014). In the generally humid and cold Canadian climate, 24

groundwater-surface water interactions are omnipresent (Devito et al. 1996; Langston et 25

al. 2013; Brannen et al. 2015; Foster and Allen 2015), but remain relatively seldomly 26

studied. The Canadian Council of Academies (CCA) (2009, p.185) expert panel on 27

groundwater concluded that a sustainable use of groundwater resources requires that 28

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“groundwater and surface water be characterised and managed as an integrated system 29

within the context of the hydrological cycle in a watershed or groundwatershed”. It is 30

only reasonable to expand this recommendation to surface water resources. 31

This has been a growing concern in the last two decades as groundwater and surface 32

water are increasingly considered as a single resource (Winter et al. 1998). Using 33

integrated approaches to understanding and manageing water resources is increasingly 34

important given the growing demand for water related to development, industry and 35

agriculture (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] 36

2015), and the superimposed stress of a changing climate (Intergovernmental Panel on 37

Climate Change [IPCC] 2014). These issues are relevant in a variety of geological and 38

climate conditions around the world, especially in densely developed areas and in dry 39

climates (IPCC 2014). However, the stresses on groundwater–surface water connections 40

should not be overlooked in water-rich countries such as Canada, despite water scarcity 41

not imposing a significant hindrance to development in most regions. It has been reported 42

that some Canadian regions have only limited groundwater and surface water reservoirs 43

(Cook and Bakker 2012). Moreover, water quality is a growing concern that will be 44

exacerbated in a changing climate (e.g. Crossman et al. 2013), and groundwater-45

dependent ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human development (e.g. Smerdon 46

et al. 2012). 47

Groundwater-surface water interactions are most often thought of as the connection 48

between aquifers and rivers. In temperate and humid climates, such as those found in 49

Canada, groundwater most often flows into rivers, where it contributes to maintaining 50

river low flows during dry periods, whereas the opposite is more common in dry 51

climates. This groundwater influx provides thermal refugia and supplies nutrients for a 52

variety of plant and animal species (e.g. Kurylyk et al. 2014). Groundwater-wetland and 53

groundwater-lake connections are expressions of similar processes where an aquifer 54

provides water to a shallow surface water reservoir or vice-versa (e.g. Winter 1999). 55

When water flows from an aquifer to a wetland or a lake, it regulates humidity and 56

temperature conditions which sustain rich ecosystems (e.g. Hoffmann et al. 2009). When 57

water flows from a wetland or lake to an aquifer (typically in drier climates), it 58

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contributes to the recharge of underground reservoirs. Submarine groundwater discharge 59

(SGD) is yet another flowpath through which aquifers provide water to marine 60

environments (e.g. Burnett et al. 2003). Salt water intrusion is the corresponding opposite 61

pathway of this connection (e.g. Ferguson and Gleeson, 2012). SGD is extremely 62

important in coastal areas around the world, where a large proportion of the world’s 63

population lives. 64

Considering the importance of groundwater-surface water interactions, relatively little is 65

known about the geological and climate conditions under which these exchanges prevail, 66

how and where they occur, and what affects their stability. More knowledge on this topic 67

is necessary to provide essential information on Canadian water resources, and crucial 68

new data for integrated water resources management. The purpose of this Special Issue 69

was to highlight the variety of issues related to groundwater-surface water interactions, 70

and recent developments in the methods used to study these interactions under a range of 71

conditions across Canada. The inspiration for publishing this Special Issue in the 72

Canadian Water Resources Journal was the large number of high-level contributions to 73

the Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions session of the GeoMontreal2013 conference, 74

which was also the 11th joint Canadian Geotechnical Society - International Association 75

of Hydrogeologists Canadian National Chapter (CGS-IAH-CNC) conference, held in 76

Montreal in October 2013. Many of the authors who contributed to this session responded 77

positively to the invitation, and were joined by other Canadian experts on groundwater-78

surface water interactions. This Special Issue contains eight contributions from university 79

researchers and private consultants on topics that are relevant to regions across Canada. 80

The highly diversified geology and climate of Canada provide a large variety of aquifer 81

types, and recharge and groundwater flow conditions (Rivera 2014). A large array of 82

river flow conditions are also observed throughout the country. As a result, groundwater-83

surface water interactions are expected to vary significantly from one region to the next, 84

as well as over time. In eastern Canada, Chaillou et al. (2016) studied SGD in the 85

Magdeleine Islands archipelago of Quebec (Maritimes Permo-Carboniferous Basin of the 86

Northeastern Appalachian Geological Province), where groundwater resources are 87

strictly dependent on precipitation and flow in the Atlantic Ocean. Chaillou et al. (2016) 88

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provide a first estimate of volumetric and chemical groundwater fluxes to a coastal 89

Canadian ocean. 90

Similar to other regions of the world, many Canadian rivers have undergone significant 91

changes over the last several decades as a result of regulation, drainage systems, dyking 92

and removal of flood retention areas (World Wildlife Fund [WWF] 2009). When still 93

present, natural riparian conditions can be the focal point of a variety of aquifer-river 94

connections, providing water storage during floods, and rich ecosystems in an otherwise 95

homogeneous agricultural landscape (e.g., Bullock and Acreman, 2003). Buffin-Bélanger 96

et al. (2016) highlight the complex relationship between flood event discharge and 97

groundwater flooding in the gravelly floodplain of the Matane River (Gaspésie region). 98

Their work provides important new data on how groundwater floodwaves could be 99

included in flood mapping. Larocque et al. (2016) illustrate how geomorphic setting can 100

control groundwater-surface water exchanges in riverine wetlands located in the Matane 101

River floodplain, and at the limit of the St. Lawrence Lowlands/Appalachian Foothills of 102

the Montérégie region (Champlain Sea silt and clay deposits). 103

A better understanding of aquifer recharge is necessary to predict groundwater discharge 104

to surface reservoirs. Because of the ever increasing pressure from urban sprawl, various 105

industries, and industrial agriculture, river low flows, wetlands, and springs can be 106

threatened by drainage and by contracting recharge areas. Understanding the connections 107

between recharge and discharge is crucial to implementing better management and 108

conservation methods. Levison et al. (2016) investigated groundwater recharge and 109

discharge through rivers and springs in the Covey Hill area of southern Quebec, at the 110

northernmost extension of the Adirondack Mountains (Potsdam Group of the Covey Hill 111

Formation). The improved understanding of how the natural system responded to a wide 112

range of climatic conditions over the last century provides insight into its resilience to 113

future climate change. Marchildon et al. (2016) studied Ecologically Significant 114

Groundwater Recharge areas (ESGRA) of the Oro Moraine in the glaciated landscape of 115

southern Ontario. ESGRAs are areas of land supporting hydraulic pathways that sustain 116

sensitive groundwater-dependent ecosystems, such as coldwater streams and wetlands. 117

Identifying ESGRAs provides a means to protecting them from development and 118

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ensuring the maintenance of the groundwater-fed ecosystems they support. Through a 119

synthesis of existing science, tools and experience, Bradford (2016) provides an 120

important overview of how to avert the degradation of southern Ontario’s wetlands. 121

Alpine watersheds represent an important source of water in many areas of the world, 122

where they contribute to the sustainance of downstream water sources. The contribution 123

of groundwater to the total flow of alpine rivers is still poorly understood. Paznekas and 124

Hayashi (2016) provide new insight into this question through their investigation of the 125

physiographical factors that control the hydrogeological behavior of mountain river 126

basins in the Rocky and Columbia Mountain Ranges. Their study shows that geological 127

and hydraulic properties are the dominating factors influencing winter flows in the 128

studied alpine rivers. 129

Temperate climate valleys are regions of intensive agricultural production worldwide. 130

These often develop in Quaternary deposits, which host extensive and productive aquifers 131

to which river systems are dynamically connected. By maintaining low flows, 132

groundwater contributions to these rivers contribute to maintaining healthy ecosystems. 133

Middleton et al. (2016) compared two watersheds which drain the Abbotsford–Sumas 134

sand and gravel aquifer in the Lower Fraser Valley of southwest British Columbia, and 135

show that local conditions can influence aquifer-river connections. 136

State-of-the-art methods to study groundwater-surface water interactions are numerous 137

and diverse (see Kalbus et al. (2006) for a summary). The papers in this Special Issue 138

highlight an array of available methods, and examples of how and under what conditions 139

they can be used. Among the field methods typically used to identify and quantify the 140

interactions, contributions included here use flow rate and water level monitoring 141

(Larocque et al. 2016; Middleton et al. 2016; Paznekas and Hayashi 2016), water 142

temperature as an indicator of groundwater inflow to a river (Larocque et al. 2016; 143

Middleton et al. 2016), and dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (Chaillou et al. 2016). 144

Time series analyses of water levels and water temperature rivers and aquifers are used to 145

identify connections between underground and surface reservoirs (Buffin-Bélanger et al. 146

2016; Larocque et al. 2016). Groundwater flow modeling and particle tracking are 147

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integrative approaches which require abundant data to describe the studied conditions; 148

data are usually acquired through aquifer characterization. Models can be used to 149

understand flow directions to surface features (Marchildon et al. 2016) and to quantify 150

groundwater discharge to rivers and springs (Levison et al. 2016). They are particularly 151

relevant to understanding past and future conditions, which can be linked to climate 152

change scenarios, as illustrated by Levison et al. (2016). Distinct insight into current 153

conditions and a clearer understanding of changing conditions in groundwater-surface 154

water interactions can also be gained through the interpretation of policy statements 155

(Bradford 2016). This approach is particularly interesting as a means of providing 156

science-based understanding to management approaches. 157

The topics covered by the articles in this Special Issue are necessarily incomplete in that 158

they do not address all possible conditions that can be encountered in Canada, nor all of 159

the methods that could be applied. Other reviews have reported wider geological and 160

climatic conditions, flow connections between different reservoirs and at different scales, 161

and a more exhaustive array of methods (e.g. Brunke and Gonser 1997; Sear et al. 1999; 162

Amoros and Bornette 2002; Krause et al. 2011; Krause et al. 2014). Nevertheless, we 163

believe that this Special Issue provides a valuable snapshot of the current, state-of-the-art 164

knowledge on groundwater-surface water interactions across the country. It also provides 165

new knowledge on the conditions under which these interactions occur, as well as the 166

methods that can be used in given situations. It is our hope that it will generate interest in 167

the initiation of new projects on this matter of critical importance for integrated water 168

resources management. 169

Acknowledgements 170

This Special Issue has brought together hydrogeology experts, specializing in different 171

areas of groundwater-surface water interactions. We wish to thank the authors who have 172

contributed to advancing knowledge on a wide variety of topics related to this very 173

important question. We also thank the reviewers who have contributed to the high 174

scientific level achieved by the Special Issue and all its comprising articles. 175

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