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Mr. Donald Barber.
1614 Exbury Cres.
Mississauga, Ontario.
L5G 2P6

RE: [#12] Further notes on drainage, presentations to UFMAC and where UFMAC can look for geology records.

Dear UFMAC Members: - Nov. 23, 1995 [#12]

    Having reviewed the minutes of the Nov. 6, 1995 meeting it is very disappointing to see such limited note taking. The most notable fact is the there is no mention of the video's contents that clearly showed the trench that the watermain was in had become a watercourse! I presented evidence to back up my statements on the hydrology at Cawthra, Mr. Petrie didn't but the strongest proof there was a problem with Cawthra Bushes hydrology is left out of the record. The photo's showing water flow into the bush from Eight St. were also not mentioned. Other corrections, I presented two letters, which should have their dates and numbers listed, were received and one had two documents with it. {Note, Doris Krahn, MNR has informed me that the copy of determination of significant woodlands...., is now outdated and has been followed by "A determination of significant woodlands in the City of Brampton, I will try to get a copy to UFMAC soon} The committee requested my presentation, I only made them aware that I had valuable information. And it must be said that UFMAC is the only group with that was professional enough to request what a resident had to offer, OCWA, KMK and the City are not. Which is doubly disappointing that the resident report was not detailed into the record and the main point was where is this water coming from that is in the trench and does it affect forest health?

    It is not my intention to attack Mr. Petrie or his work but to point out the limits of it and that again when a consulate is not presented with all the information then the work generated will not be as accurate or complete, as it could be. Mr. Petrie didn't have any document or other aides to back up anything he said. There was no presentation on other similar size pipes and their effect on ground water. Mr. Petrie presented himself as a Geologist to this committee.

    He state first off that he was not involved in the consultations or planning for the watermain by the Cawthra Bush in the past, his first involvement was starting 2 months ago. Mr. Petrie was not given written terms of reference by this committee on what they wanted the report to be about/cover, that was left to Mr. Grant. Mr. Petrie understood the matter he was to report on is can he see any changes in the water level, to which he reported he can't and then later that there had been. It was noted that very limited time (about one day total, if that), given to Mr. Petrie review the records and one quick site walk by Grant. So when asked, after these facts were noted, what impact the watermain will have on the forest the respondence by Mr. Petrie was, "is it going to have an effect, I don't know".

    He also noted that in the north end of forest (covered by the land transfer contract), lower water levels have been found from those taken in 1990. "Don't know what I am seeing here, so I really can't qualify." He did make the point, to this committee, that a person of his back ground is limited in what he can inform the committee on. Which makes my skin crawl to hear a member of UFMAC talk about having a "comfort level" with what was being say, the man clearly informed the committee he was not the man to answer all the questions, for the reasons he gave. It is a shame he left before I made my presentation.

- 2 -

    Mr. Petrie didn't say "no indication of distress", which he appears to have in the minutes, he explained that he is not a forest ecologist and wouldn't know if the trees are being impacted by a change in the water table or how long it would take to show up. Mr. Petrie was not fully informed as to where the inflows of water were coming from but did guess about them. His statement that back fill, made up of shale, dug up during the construction of the trench, could be simple dumped back into the trench and have no real effect on ground water is invalid. Ground water moves through the spaces between stones, etc. and to compare backfill with a flat, solid sheet of shale is not acceptable! In regrades to how much area can be drained by the pipe, (french drain effect), he kept stating that the concrete seepage collars/dams poured into the trench would work to limit water flow in the trench. But didn't go into detail what would happen if they failed to work or how we would know they did. Well, my video and photo's clear show the dams are not working and therefore his statements on how much ground water will drain out of the forest (and residents property), are invalided as well. He did state that there will be a drainage effect to the trench (even when the seepage collars/dams are working) but as they are not, then the drainage area will be much larger, on both sides. He didn't seen to know how many or where the seepage collar/dams were.

    In regrades to the shallow water table "there is. yes" and a connection between the surface water and ground water "there is". That the watertable is thin and close to the surface, so the ground can't hold a lot of water to begin with. He states that don't know one way or other why the pond ran dry and the same comment for the other wet areas. He noted it would take a few years of monitoring to know if watertable has been changed. And suggests to wait and see what happens. He also made no mention of the work shut down as water flow caved in the sides of the trench. So it is unlikely he was given the full story on construction. Add to this his confirmation that the preached water table has been ruptured, "trench has cut into the near surface material which are water bearing" and lower water samples in the north end. Along with my video of the trench as a watercourse where is there any reason to be comfortable?

    This report was found to lacking in the following areas. No written terms of reverence from UFMAC. The past construction notes, all three were not fully reviewed. Which sections are and/or be more effected by the pipe. Are there reasons for a full and formal hydrology report to be carried out (remember the contract on the north part of Cawthra Bush). This committee was told not to try and analyze the water table info, as it is full of "subtle changes", then how can he assure us about anything? Or maybe the testing done was not meant to be used for this kind of report? And how can he real answer our questions with the old data? Seasonal ponds and swales what if any history was presented to him, we don't have much data, Granting just guessing? I hear nothing to suggest the concrete was forced in the fractured shale, resulting from construction, only poured, not the best of seals.

    No written report, the UFMAC goes to the trouble to ask for a report and has little to show for it, there is more documentation from my report to UFMAC then the City's!

    In my report, asked for by UFMAC, including first hand site notes made from before the work was started till present, photographs and video. A number of request were made to review the same records that staff presented to Mr. Petrie and staff stoned wall me so I don't (just as this committee doesn't), know what he was informed of. It is a shame he left before I made my presentation and therefore has no knowledge of "conflicting" evidence. A shame that no member of staff, like John Rydzewski, asked any questions of me (is this to say staff has no concerns as to what could be happening to City and resident property?). In my July 26/95 letter page 6, it was noted that a large volume of water was observed flowing in the watermain trench at the Atwater St. site, left open while the rest of the watermain had already been backed filled and no connection had been made under the QEW or to date. Therefore whatever was in the trench had to be from between the South Service Rd. and Atwater Rd. The video tape clear identified the site, that there was the noted volume water flowing along the bottom of the trench and how it was measured.

- 3 -

    A photo of the same Atwater Site from an earlier time, before the pipes were attached. That showed the area flooded with a few feet of water while explaining, water could be seen flowing in the site all the time, that it had to be pumped 24 hours a day to keep it free of water and that records existed of this. It was, not a right after rain storm deal. I know of no effort to record the volumes of water being pumped by KMK or OCWA. That efforts were not successful to have an inspector come out to see if they were pumping too much groundwater into the sewers, as the I believe KMK just told them no and that was the end of it.

    Photographs present to committee members present, showed the pond drying up over the course of time, the swales dry, other photo's showing the dry conditions in the north end, the cave in of the trench during construction which resulted in a stop work order, the added drainage in the north to increased the drainage of the swales (which Grant has noted to this committee), scene along the south end of the forest & Lawn Bowling green noting that there are no seepage collar/dams on the south end of the forest and beyond, scenes showing water flowing from the forest side of trench along it's length during construction. During the summer purple loosestrife had taken over the wetlands in the south (at Eighth St.), while noting there was no purple loosestrife before the conservation started.

    A series of photo's showing the water into the Cawthra Bush from the Eight St. area. It was explained that water was noted to flow from the east side of the trench was a few gallons a minute from more then on spot for the whole length of time the conservation stopped in that spot. One photo clearly showed the water had not built up the few inches, to flow into the bottom of the pipe and another photo showed that there was a seepage collar about 100' down the trench from the ground water flowing into the trench. One of many proofs that the seepage/dams are not working and that there are other sources of water to the Cawthra Bush. Sources which the watermain has cut off. It was also noted that this water was tested to see if came from a leak from the older pipes which it didn't and that there are records from the past watermain constructions, notes about encountering ground water.

    The construction company didn't follow the City's agreement between all parties and the City didn't follow up to ensure they did. Residents did and shut down site. They didn't care about promises made and the City couldn't be trusted to monitor events, AFTER GOING TO GREAT EFFORT TO WORK OUT A DEAL TO PROTECT MORE OF CITY LAND, THE MEETINGS AND AGREEMENT RESULTING FROM A CITY COUNCIL MEETING NO LESS! How much, have they shorted us on?

    Other notes, that the ground above the watermain is much wetter then on either side. That there were a great number of frogs in the north end of the Cawthra Bush up till only a few years ago. Maybe it is the spaying being done by Peel along the road side. Effort to get the CVC to take action has resulted in nothing, they claim that ground water and surface drainage are all City problems. The City, (Mr. John Rydzewski and other), has not responded or even acknowledged my letters.

- 4 -

    In regard to the City minutes made of my presentation, the UFMAC is a technical committee and it is useless to report I contradicted another persons report, what did I present? What did I contradict? Was there any questions? By whom? Will they be follow up? And if this (which was requested by the Committee), was for its information, then where is the reported information in the minutes!

    In regrades to other questions which have come up after Nov. 6. The other two watermains were not trenched into the shale that I know of and no doubt were placed on beds of gravel and not a true barrier to water. If you look at a site plan showing a cross section, it is very clear why they don't compare to the monster just put in and closest to the Cawthra Bush. As there are no seepage collars/dams on the south end and combined with plans behind Cawthra arena (which there are conflicting reports as to what will happen), with we may very well have built means to drain two wholes sides of the Cawthra Bush. No work was done to deal just with the water table, shallow roots and what to expect if a drop in this wetlands water table should happen.

    How long would it take for trees to die anyway, underscores the need for real monitoring in Cawthra and public support in areas like leaving monitoring tubes alone and in bird watching. The results should go in the local library so the public can be involved. Measure water quality at a number of places, remember Cawthra is a wetlands!

    Rain and drainage. If it rains a lot the swales will fill up on the short term, as ground water flows slowly, a wet season will keep the an increase in drainage from being felt by the trees and us from measuring its effect. Currently, due to a wet fall the water has started to pool in the swamp forest. The section of pipe by Atwater should be dug up and monitored to see just how much water is flowing in the trench, as that is the main concern. Local home owner should be notified, in case there they start to experiencing more extreme fluctuates in water table levels. Which could affect their homes foundations, eg shift the footings, cracks and leaks depending on water table level. How to fix, indeed, cover trench with concrete the idea of pumping the water out of trench all the time, back to forest would be to costly. They should have deep tunnelled as resident requested.

    In summing up consider the following:
    The water table can be viewed as on a table top most flat and made of shale which is impermeable to water. On the table top different layers and mixtures of soils, sand, silts, and clay, all of which allow water to flow through at different rates. The rate of water flow will depend on the spaces between the particles of the soil, more space, faster flow. Sand is a great one passing water and the back fill in the trench, broken up pieces of shale is good too. The pipe also sits on a bed of gravel too. It will take some time before the back fill settles out and by then, because of the high volumes of water already moving in the trench, an established watercourse will be in the trench. Why will the water flow into the trench from areas far removed? Remember the idea of a table top, and image it covered with water, about an inch, then if a trench cut, about haft an inch deep, the length of the table. The table would need to tilted somewhat to show the general lay of the land and that water if generally flowing north to south and add to this the slowness of ground water.

- 5 -

    The thin water table which use to generally flow south as a more or less as a equal film of water on the surface on the shale now finds a path of lest resistance in the area around and along the length of the trench. Water will flow into the trench as the it is both a lower then the surface of the shale level but also the material in the trench will allow flow south at a much higher rate, both in speed and volume of water, and therefore drain an area faster and establish a new watercourse for the long term.

    The seepage collars/dams, inparticular have been show not to work, water is flowing around them at their bases, through fractures in the shale caused by construction and even after being back filled the water will fill the trench then just flow around the dam, flowing south at a higher rate and higher volume. The trend for water to follow the watermain has been documented with my video and other photo's. The use of the phrase "sucking water" to describe the water flow out of the forest is not the best choice of words but if you go back to the idea of a table cover with water. Even if it was standing perfectly flat with a lower trench cut into the surface, what would happen if you unplugged one end of the trench? Would not all the water generally flow into the trench? If Cawthra Bush is different I would like to know how.

Conclusions & recommendations.
Ask Mr. Petrie for a written report to include the following;
1). What records were presented for review and what did Grant inform him of.
2). How much time was spent on the report.
3). How applicable is the construction bore hole data to a hydrology report of the complicity need to project the changes in hydrology to Cawthra Bush as a result of the installation of the Hanlan feedermain.
4). Is it his opinion that the Cawthra Bush is or was a wetland.
5). Were he informed about the past drainage works on the Cawthra site?
6). Where are the areas of ground water recharge and why.
7). This committee is trying to build up a data base on the site and surrounding geology could you recommend places to look for records.
8). What areas will be hardest hit by the drainage.
9). How will the french drain effect the forest and to what degree.
10). Ask him to comment on the adding of more ditches to the north section and to the south by the Lawn Bowling green
11). Ask him to comment on the plans to build the wall behind the Cawthra Arena, if you can find any plans.
12). Ask him to recommend what future action should be taken to help answer this committees questions.
13). Is there a edge of the preached water table, (where are it's limits), and can it be repaired, can any repair be done.
14). To comment in general and what limits should be attached to his report.

- 6 -

    How strange it was sitting there at the Nov. 20, 1995 meeting of UFMAC not more then 6' from the map that committee members, City Councillor and City staff pouring over a map of Cawthra Bush wondering out loud where can we find water table info/records and geology records? None knowing. I past a note and made myself aware to members but never called upon to inform. Makes me wonder just what is the point of trying to even be apart of the process.

    But none the less here are some places to dig up necessary information, I would encourage this committee to gather in all it can, even if it can't, in the foreseeable future, incorporate it into a data base because it is more important to have the facts either on hand or know where they are stored. Which speed up future searches either at this site of aid in searches at others.

1. Bore holes were taken for both over passes at QEW & Cawthra Rd.
2. Bore holes have been taken for all three watermains I believe and check in Clerks Dept at City hall as this feeders mains, environmental study report should still be there.
3. Past construction notes and repair notes. I understand when OCWA ran across the water running into the trench at Eighth St. they did testing of the water, incase it was a leak from the old mains. These test and any others done could prove valuable. In the past the older mains had a habit of needing repair these records should be found and reviewed.
4. The Cawthra Bush has two water sheds as noted by the CVC the City (why not ask for Blyleven's reports? The draft is the better to review as he went out into the Bush to personally chart the preached water table)
5. The Master Plan for Cawthra (and why has a copy not been provide?), it has very useful information on the site geology
6. Peel when it does road work, collects info & sampling for Cawthra Rd. and South Service Rd.
7. Who ever tunnelled in the local creeks, Cawthra and Serson should have drainage pattern info.
8. The province for bore hole and construction notes on QEW and the drainage into Cawthra, from where to where. And may offer a better picture of the area before the QEW.
9. Local residents.
10. Mark Warrack told me about an old iron pipe they ran into while digging a trench to run services into the estate during renovation notes on this could be found in Toronto records, maybe.

    The key point is there are lots of places to look and many different ways to do the search. Freedom of Information requests by or to the City request by UFMAC or personal FOI requests but you should at least know where the records are, if they could hold any clue to the past. Maybe have students do the work to learn how to do research or local historical groups. UFMAC could put in or through a requests to be channelled as a FOI request so the city can use it's computer tracking system and do a search by subject. This search can take in Transportation and Works (for any drainage problems or projects which could shed light on the Cawthra area), to Peel to find out about bore holes done for roads or it spraying program on the roadside by Cawthra Bush (maybe it has help kill off the frogs), and other works that may have an effect on the health of the Cawthra Bush.

Please find enclosed:
1). Letter from City
2). The stop work order.
3). Part of the City's Master Plan.
4). Part of a map by Winter Associates.

Sincerely Yours - Mr. Donald Barber

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