POSSIBLE UNDERGROUND LINK BETWEEN RICO LAKE AND PROPOSED LANDFILL: CREC
CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – The story between a local environmental group and an excavating company continues.
Campbell River Environmental Group (CREC) and Upland Excavating Ltd. presented their findings on a proposed landfill to city council during Monday’s meeting.
Hydrogeologist Dr. Gilles Wendling presented his findings to the city council on behalf of CREC. Dr. Wendling outlined key concerns such as properly understanding the groundwater system in the fractured bedrock between the proposed landfill and Rico Lake.
According to Dr. Wendling, there is an underground trough through the bedrock between Rico Lake and the Upland site.
“(There is) a presence of a trough that would allow movement of water between Rico Lake and Uplands,” Dr. Wendling said during the meeting.
He added that it doesn’t seem like there is enough information on what may happen in case of a heavy earthquake, which could potentially push water from the landfill toward Rico Lake and affect Campbell River’s drinking water source.
Dr. Wendling also pointed out that when he visited Upland’s site, he observed water pooling in some areas, which may indicate a shallow aquifer. He said this would need to be incorporated into the design to ensure Upland is fulfilling the requirement for the distance between groundwater and waste.
Upland Excavating representatives Terry Stuart, Brian Fagan and Greg Ferraro presented an overview of the proposed landfill to the council.
The plan is to have the landfill operating for approximately 20 years. The landfill will be a site for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste, which includes soil contaminated with oil, gas or sea salt. The landfill will also collect land clearing and demolition debris.
No hazardous wastes will be accepted, except for asbestos.
Stuart, Fagan and Ferraro stated that hazardous waste is defined by the Provincial Hazardous Waste Regulation, and that creosote treated wood products are not considered to be hazardous waste.
They also stated that the proposed landfill will have a double liner, leachate collection and leak detection systems. They added that seismic considerations have also been taken into account.
Upland confirmed they have gathered water quality data for Rico Lake and that they will continue to monitor both Rico and McIvor lakes.
They added that Mcivor Lake is 177 to 177.9 metres above sea level and that the groundwater below the landfill is 152.5 to 165 metres above sea level. The base of the landfill will always be above 1.5 metres above sea level.
“And the groundwater from (from the proposed site) flows southeast, not towards Rico Lake, McIvor Lake or Cold Creek,” Stuart said.
“On behalf of council, I think I can fairly say the two most important things to us are the preservation of our drinking water but also the habitat for salmon spawning grounds in both the Quinsam and Campbell rivers that are essential for Campbell River’s history and future,” Mayor Adams said.
The council will forward correspondence from CREC president Leona Adams to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to review with Upland’s site application.
