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{{short description|Natural spring and water source in Ontario}}
The '''Arkell Spring Grounds''' is an [[aquifer]]-fed [[Spring (hydrology)|spring]] located in [[Arkell, Ontario|Arkell]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]. The spring is owned by the city of [[Guelph]] and provides local residents with the majority of their drinking water.<ref name="Watershed" />

==History==
Guelph began using [[groundwater]] as a principal source of [[drinking water]] in 1879 and began exploiting the Arkell Spring in 1903,<ref name="Puslinch2">{{cite web |title=Maintaining a Safe and Sustainable Supply to 2038 - Assessing Alternatives |url=https://puslinch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/City-of-Guelph-Water-Supply-Master-Plan-7.pdf |website=puslinch.ca |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="Puslinch" /> though no agreement between Arkell and Guelph was formalized until 1908.<ref name="Clarks">{{cite web |title=The News from Arkell |url=http://www.clarksoftomfad.ca/Arkellnews.htm |website=clarksoftomfad.ca |access-date=6 March 2021}}</ref> Construction began on a [[watercourse]] to the city in August 1908 but was slowed by the spring water welling up into the trench being dug by work crews, and in October and November of that year, the work crews used [[dynamite]] as a way of quickly clearing the route. Arkell Springs was the site of the first [[tree planting]] campaign to protect a Canadian city's water supply.<ref name="GRCA3">{{cite web |title=A Watershed Forest Plan for the Grand River |url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/resources/Documents/Forestry_ForestPlan.pdf |website=grandriver.ca |publisher=Grand River Conservation Authority |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>

After authorities in the [[United States]] uncovered an alleged conspiracy by [[German Empire|German]] [[Sabotage|saboteurs]] to destroy infrastructure in the USA and Canada, fears of similar plots emerged in Guelph. In July 1915, the ''[[Guelph Mercury]]'' newspaper reported on rumours of an attack against the community, suggesting that the [[Immigration to Canada|immigrant community]] in the St. Patrick's Ward neighbourhood had sabotaged the [[Pipeline transport|pipeline]] which transported water from the Arkell Spring to the city, and blamed them for an outbreak of disease that had occurred earlier in the year.<ref name="Butts">{{cite news |last1=Butts |first1=Ed |title=Wartime conspiracy believed Guelph's water supply could have been the target of enemy agents |url=https://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion-story/7242970-wartime-conspiracy-believed-guelph-s-water-supply-could-have-been-the-target-of-enemy-agents/ |access-date=5 March 2021 |work=Guelph Mercury |date=15 April 2017}}</ref> At the time, the neighbourhood had more immigrants than anywhere else in Guelph, many of them coming from German, [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian]], and other European countries. The scare prompted an investigation by Ontario's Provincial Board of Health, which sent a team of physicians and a [[Environmental health officer|sanitary inspector]] to inspect the pipeline. While the pipe had not been sabotaged, the team discovered that cracks in the [[Water distribution system|water main]] had allowed swamp water contaminated with animal droppings to mix with the water from Arkell Spring, and Guelph was put on a [[boil-water advisory]] until repairs could be made.

In the 1960s, the city of Guelph began establishing modern [[well]]s on the Arkell Spring Grounds that have remained in continuous operation ever since. Beginning with Arkell 7 in 1964, Guelph has established five additional wells in the area: Arkell 1 and Arkell 6 in 1967; Arkell 8 in 1989; and Arkell 14 and Arkell 15 in 2012.<ref name="Puslinch2" /> The Arkell Aqueduct was also constructed in 1964.<ref name="Guelph2">{{cite web |title=Arkell Aqueduct maintenance project |url=https://guelph.ca/living/construction-projects/arkell-aqueduct-maintenance-project/ |website=guelph.ca |publisher=City of Guelph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030005725/https://guelph.ca/living/construction-projects/arkell-aqueduct-maintenance-project/ |archive-date=30 October 2020 |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref> Canadian [[geographer]] [[Paul Birchan]] has suggested Guelph's use of the Arkell Spring played a major role in Guelph residents overwhelmingly voting against [[water fluoridation|fluoridation]] in 1964 and 1972.<ref name="Carstairs">{{cite journal |last1=Carstairs |first1=Catherine |title=The Environmental Critique of Water Fluoridation |journal=Scientia Canadensis |date=1 November 2015 |volume=38 |url=https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/scientia/1900-v1-n1-scientia02451/1036040ar.pdf |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref>

The Arkell Springs Grounds were shut down in April 2020 in compliance with provincial restrictions meant to limit the spread of [[COVID-19 pandemic in Canada|COVID-19]]<ref name="GORBA">{{cite web |last1=Casey |first1=Don |title=ARKELL SPRINGS GROUNDS AND TRAILS CLOSED DUE TO COVID-19 |url=https://gorba.ca/2020/04/20/arkell-springs-grounds-and-trails-closed-due-to-covid-19/ |website=gorba.ca |publisher=Guelph Off-Road Bicycling Association |access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref> but reopened in February 2021.<ref name="GORBA3" />

==Hydrology==
The water which wells up at the Arkell Springs is groundwater. When rain falls in the area, it sinks into the ground and is filtered through vegetation before being deposited at the [[bedrock]].<ref name="Guelph" /> The Arkell Spring Grounds are situated above the [[Dyer Bay Formation|Dyer Bay]], [[Rockway Formation|Rockway]] (possibly [[Reynales Formation|Reynales]]), and [[Fossil Hill Formation]]s, [[geological formation]]s which are themselves rested on top of the [[Cabot Head Shale]].<ref name="Burton">{{cite journal |last1=Burton |first1=Frank |title=City of Guelph Groundwater Resource Assessment Project |journal=Project Unit 06-028 |date=December 2006 |volume=37 |doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.4395.6721 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304539903 |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref> The [[Amabel Formation|Amabel]] and [[Guelph Formation]]s have been found as [[outcrop]]s on the grounds' eastern and western fringes, respectively.

Guelph is one of the largest cities in Canada which uses groundwater as its principal source of water.<ref name="Guelph">{{cite web |title=Arkell Springs forest management |url=https://guelph.ca/living/environment/trees/arkell-springs-forest-stewardship/ |website=guelph.ca |access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref> An estimated 55-80% of the city's water supply is derived from the Arkell Spring Grounds, located in the municipal "Southeast Quadrant" well system.<ref name="Watershed">{{cite web |title=Grand River Watershed Characterization Report|url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/resources/Documents/Water_Groundwater_GRCharacterization.pdf |website=grandriver.ca |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="Puslinch">{{cite web |title=GUELPH'S WATER SUPPLY MASTER PLAN UPDATE |url=https://puslinch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Item-7-Delegations.pdf |website=puslinch.ca |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="Guelph2" /><ref name="Mutti">{{cite journal |last1=Mutti |first1=Dennis |last2=Anderson |first2=Heather |last3=Pett |first3=Brian |title=Challenges in Implementing Enhanced Disinfection: Negotiating Operational Flexibility for the City of Guelph's Upgraded Water Supply System |journal=IUVA News |date=December 2007 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=19–24 |url=https://uvsolutionsmag.com/stories/pdf/IUVANewsV9N4_2007.pdf |access-date=6 March 2021}}</ref> Although located outside the city limits, the Arkell Springs Grounds exist on a {{convert|350|ha|acre}} plot owned by the City of Guelph. The six wells on this property range {{convert|14.2-44.2|m|ft}} in depth and are located next to natural heritage lands. Most of the Arkell wells produce 6,500 m3 of water per day but the most shallow well, Arkell 1, draws only 2,000 m3 per day. The city collects groundwater from Arkell Springs using small pipes which empty into the Arkell Aqueduct, a non-pressurized gravity [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]] made of [[concrete]],<ref name="Turnour">{{cite journal |last1=Turnour |first1=Bob |title=Gravity-Based Pipeline Constructed With Concrete Pressure Pipe |journal=Concrete Pipe News |date=2009 |volume=61 |issue=2 |page=6 |url=http://www.concretepipe.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CP-News-Spring-2009.pdf |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref> transporting the water {{convert|6|km|mi}} to [[F.M. Woods Pumping Station and Reservoir]], a [[Water purification|water filtration]] facility where it is treated with [[sodium hypochlorite]].

To supplement the groundwater supply during the yearly high-demand period between April and November,<ref name="Boreham" /> an [[Groundwater recharge|artificial recharge system]] draws water from the [[Eramosa River]] into an [[Percolation trench|infiltration trench]],<ref name="TheGrand">{{cite journal |title=Surface water important to several communities |journal=The Grand |date=2006 |page=6 |url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/learn-get-involved/resources/Documents/The_Grand/Publications_Grand_2006Fall.pdf |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> keeping the spring filled up to a [[potentiometric surface]] so that it can remain at full capacity even as demand from the city drains it.<ref name="Kennedy">{{cite thesis |last=Kennedy |first=Celia Syliva Cassis |date=June 2017 |title=Groundwater – Surface Water Interactions in the Discrete Fracture Networks of Bedrock Rivers |type=PhD |publisher=University of Guelph |url=https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10214/11488/Kennedy_Celia_201708_PhD.pdf |access-date=7 March 2021}}</ref> Of this, roughly 50% of the water taken from the river is recovered while the remainder returns to the river; a 2017 survey using [[Thermographic camera|infrared imagery]] found several [[Seep (hydrology)|groundwater seeps]] where the Arkell Spring feeds into the Eramosa River. A 1982 report by the Grand River Implementation Committee determined that the recharge system would allow the city of Guelph to keep up with demand for drinking water until 2031, and recommended the Arkell Springs system be expanded by 2021;<ref name="GRIC">{{cite web |title=Grand River Basin Water Management Study |url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/resources/Documents/Water_History_1982BasinStudy.pdf |website=grandriver.ca |publisher=Grand River Implementation Committee |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> a 2014 report suggested that demand would actually outmatch supply by 2023.<ref name="Boreham">{{cite news |last1=Boreham |first1=Paul |title=City says Arkell Springs project will meet growing demand for water in Guelph |url=https://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/6814855-city-says-arkell-springs-project-will-meet-growing-demand-for-water-in-guelph/ |access-date=5 March 2021 |work=Guelph Mercury |date=18 August 2016}}</ref> A Class Environmental Assessment performed by Guelph between 1999 and 2006 investigated the potential expansion of the Arkell Springs system, and a 2009 study found that the Eramosa/Arkell Intake was the only [[Drainage basin|subwatershed]] of the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]] at risk of being stressed by local demand.<ref name="GRCA">{{cite web |title=Tier 2 Water Quantity Stress Assessment Report |url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/resources/Documents/Water_Supplies_Tier2.pdf |website=grandriver.ca |publisher=Grand River Conservation Authority |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> Additional bedrock wells installed during the 2011-2012 season have increased the system's output by 6,900-8,000 m3 per day.<ref name="Puslinch2" /><ref name="Puslinch" /><ref name="GRCA2">{{cite web |title=Grand River Watershed Water Management Plan |url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/our-watershed/resources/Documents/WMP/Water_WMP_Plan_Complete.pdf |website=grandriver.ca |publisher=Grand River Conservation Authority |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>

Municipal studies have investigated the possibility that the water could become contaminated by [[chemical accident|chemical spills]] and [[water pollution|pollution]] from the Eramosa River.

==Conservation==
In 1964, [[Pinus resinosa|red pine]] [[Plantation#Forest plantations|plantation]]s were established around the Arkell Spring Grounds.<ref name="Guelph" /> An initiative by the Guelph municipal government is [[Reforestation|reforesting]] the Arkell Spring area to improve the amount and quality of groundwater available. As the introduced red pine population thins due to poor soil conditions and overpopulation, the Guelph municipal government seeds endemic plants to replace them and create a more diverse forest environment. Rather than allow the pines to die off naturally, they are cut down outside of wildlife breeding seasons, with some being removed while others are left to decompose.

Nearby landowners have also contributed to diversifying the woodland. In early 2007, the owners of the Cove Valley Farm in [[Regional Municipality of Halton|Halton]], which borders the Arkell Spring area, were granted the 2006 Watershed Award by the [[Grand River Conservation Authority]] for conservation efforts such as the planting of 7,000 [[List of Pinus species#Subgenus Strobus|white pine]]s beginning in 1980 and their construction of a roofed [[manure]] storage area which limits the amount of [[Surface runoff|runoff pollution]] entering the groundwater reserves.<ref name="Baine">{{cite journal |last1=Baine |first1=Janet |title=Parkers receive Watershed Award |journal=Grand Actions |date=March 2007 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=5–6 |url=https://www.grandriver.ca/en/learn-get-involved/resources/Documents/Grand_Actions/Publications_GA_2007_2_MarApr.pdf |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>

==Recreation==
The Arkell Spring Grounds is not a [[Urban park|public park]]. However, certain sections of the property are managed by the [[Guelph Hiking Club]] and the [[Guelph Off-Road Biking Association|Guelph Off-Road Biking Association (GORBA)]].<ref name="GORBA2">{{cite web |title=Arkell FAQ |url=https://gorba.ca/arkell-property-faq/ |website=gorba.ca |publisher=Guelph Off-Road Bicycling Association |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> The two groups maintain over a dozen marked [[trail]]s on the Arkell Spring Grounds. Only members of their organizations are allowed to use the trails on the property.

There are roughly {{convert|10|km|mi}} of trails on the Arkell Spring Grounds.<ref name="GORBA3">{{cite web |title=Arkell Spring Grounds |url=https://www.trailforks.com/region/arkell-spring-grounds/ |website=trailforks.com |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref> Hiking trails are maintained by the Guelph Hiking Club and marked with red and blue signage, while bike paths are maintained by GORBA and have yellow and green signage. Mixed-use trails are maintained by both organizations. Common hazards encountered on the property include large rocks, above-ground roots, and steep inclines.

The sections of the Arkell Spring Grounds which are not accessible by marked trails are considered off-limits in order to protect the water supply and limit visitors' exposure to hazards. Some former trails have been made into operational areas that are now closed to visitors.<ref name="Boreham" />

There are no parking areas for vehicles on the Arkell Spring Grounds or any adjacent roads, limiting access to the property.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Aquifers}}
{{Guelph}}

[[Category:Aquifers in Canada]]
[[Category:Geography of Guelph]]

Arkell Spring Grounds - Revision history

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