President, Sr. Hydrogeologist
With over 28 years scientific experience, Rick Gagné is among the top hydrogeologists in Nova Scotia. A
native of Manitoba, Rick earned his B.Sc. with
Honours in Geology with a minor in Chemistry from Carleton
University, and went to work in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British
Columbia as an oil and gas exploration geologist for Shell Canada
and junior petroleum exploration companies. His thesis work and
his work for oil exploration companies examined buried river
channel deposits, mostly within Cretaceous terrestrial, deltaic,
and shallow 
coastal marine paleao-environments. Later Rick worked as lead
geologic researcher providing design
input for building new computerized ore sorting
equipment for use by the
mining industry, and for use in waste reduction and management.
Rick did his Master's level studies in Hydrogeology at the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now Dal-Tech), during which time his research focused on water resource assessment, exploration, and protection.
Prior to founding earth-water Concepts inc. and its predecessor company, Rick was the Senior Hydrogeologist and a Lead Environmental Auditor for the Environmental Services Group at Public Works and Government Services Canada, and Senior Hydrogeologist at other consulting firms where he planned and managed large and small-scale hydrologic field investigations, managed contamination hydrogeology projects, installed monitoring networks, developed groundwater supplies, and collected thousands of water-quality samples.
Rick offers customized service in English and French and is a licensed Professional Geoscientist with the province of Nova Scotia. Rick is a co-founder and an inaugural member of Council for the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Nova Scotia, he is a member of the International Association of Hydrogeologist, the National Groundwater Association, the Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers, he is past chair of the Halifax Lakes and Waterways Advisory Committee, and is currently a Director of the Technical Division of the Nova Scotia Ground Water Association.
