This project proposed and eventually constructed a 13-km bridge between Prince Edward Island and the mainland of Canada between Borden, P.E.I., and Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. The project consists of a high-level two-lane road structure built on piers over the entire crossing of the Northumberland Strait, although a tunnel had been considered.

earth-water Concepts inc. staff, while working for others, were asked to assess the groundwater supply and surface water hydrological implications of the tunnel option before the bridge was constructed. The assessment modelled the effects of advancing a tunnel through bedrock under salt water and into fresh water aquifers, and maintaining a tunnel through several years of operation. Results were delivered for consultation with the federal and both provincial governments, and members of the local communities at the landfall areas on both sides of the bridge.

Fox Harb'r is a luxury resort on the Northumberland Straight in Nova Scotia. The site contains an 18 hole golf course, a spa, condominiums, a jet landing strip, and a salt-water marina. Construction of the marina required extensive excavation and dewatering before completion and flooding with sea water.

Managers of the facility hired earth-water Concepts inc. senior hydrogeologist to help address concerns by nearby cottage well owners about marina construction. Project reviews included consultations with well owners and project managers, data collection, and groundwater modelling to develop a water management plan that was presented to and accepted by all involved.

The Municipality of the District of Hants is developing a groundwater supply in a shallow, confined, unconsolidated Cretaceous sand and gravel channel and delta aquifer complex to replace the surface source that serves the village of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Aquifer recharge, thought to be occurring a long distance away, is poorly understood, and additional aquifer withdrawals by the municipality will be significant. This has a number of local farm operators concerned that limited aquifer resources, which in Nova Scotia are allocated on a first come first serve basis, may not be correctly appropriated to meet their existing farm well supply requirements.

To ensure proper recognition and fair allocation of the water resources already in use, local farm owners hired earth-water Concepts inc. to obtain groundwater withdrawal permits for a number of existing well water supplies. This required a number of pumping tests and studies to assess and document:

• overall local aquifer and existing individual well capabilities,
• current and future groundwater farm supply requirements,
• mutual influences that pumping at farm wells may have on others,
• production sustainability relative to current understanding of aquifer recharge,
• fair allocation of water resources and pumping rates for permit applications.

The Town of Mahone Bay located on Nova Scotia's south shore has been using Oakland Lake as water supply for many generations without difficulties. The Town is now completing a source water protection plan, and in the process of registering the source with the province to protected it, the Town was asked to apply for a water withdrawal permit for the supply. Water taking is metered at the lake and after treatment, but there is no data on natural flows in the watershed. The Town of Mahone Bay hired earth-water Concepts inc. to help obtain the permit, requiring comprehensive investigations that:

• characterize growth in demand and estimate future water use from Oakland Lake,
• collect precipitation, stream flow and water taking data to obtain water balances,
• simulate long-term source flows from nearby gauged watersheds,
• describe downstream effects of water withdrawal from the lake,
• evaluate local yield under current and future conditions,
• map lake bathymetry and define lake water residence times,
• evaluate risks of contamination in upper parts of the watershed and at the lake,
• evaluate the adequacy of lake storage and reservoir requirements for the future,
• systematically evaluate water supply options and long-term operating requirements.

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