Using regional groundwater geochemistry datasets to improve conceptual models of groundwater flow and to guide monitoring near oil sands development

Please join us for a special lecture this Friday May 3 at 3:00 pm in rm 155 Geology presented by Dr Jean Birks, Principal Researcher, Water Research, InnoTech Alberta

Abstract: The Alberta Oil Sands Region comprises an area of 142,000 km² and constitutes the largest energy reserve in Canada and third in the world. While a significant energy resource for the country, there is a recognized need to ensure that current and future development of the petroleum resources do not pose significant risk to surface and groundwater quantity or quality. The first phase of comprehensive regional oil sands groundwater monitoring was initiated in 2009 and has proceeded annually, amassing a significant monitoring dataset from monitoring wells situated in the various sub-regions. In additional to groundwater monitoring data collected as part of provincial monitoring programs, there are also large amounts of water quality data acquired for domestic and industrial water wells and as part of water resource surveys for individual oil sands operations. This talk will review two recent regional data compilation efforts that have led to improvements to conceptual models of groundwater flow in this region and new recommendations for groundwater monitoring.