A framework for better understanding drinking-water quality in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador: Implications for optimization and protection of municipally supplied water

This research project was driven by the recurring complaints and concerns voiced in the media by residents living in the Valley area of the community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. Drinking water in this town is supplied by two water treatment plants (a municipality treatment plant and a DND treatment plant), which use raw water from two different sources (groundwater from multiple wells versus surface water from Spring Gulch brook) and use two different processes of drinking-water treatment. In fact, the drinking water supplied in the Valley area has a unique distribution arrangement. To meet demand, the Valley area is served by a blend of treated waters from a storage reservoir (Sandhill reservoir), which is fed by both water treatment plants. Most of the time, treated water from the municipal treatment plant dominates in the mixture. As water travels through the distribution system and household plumbing, specific reactions can occur either in the water itself and/or at the solid–liquid interface at the pipe walls; this is strongly influenced by the physical and chemical characteristics of the water. These reactions can introduce undesirable chemical compounds and/or favor the growth of bacteria in the drinking water, causing the deterioration of the quality of water reaching the consumer taps. In the distribution system in general, these chemical constituents and bacteria may pose potential threats to health or the water’s aesthetic qualities (smell, taste or appearance). Drinking water should be not only safe, but also palatable

Documenting Spatial and Temporal Variations of Subsurface Contaminates Using Tree Cores: Implications for the Design of Effective Waste Management Strategies

Proper waste management has become a worldwide humanitarian topic, because of increased awareness of potential risks posed by unsound waste disposal to human health and the environment (El-Fadel et al., 1997; Rowe et al., 1997). In remote communities in Canada’s North, here defined as the part north of the southern limit of discontinued permafrost zone, landfills and/or dumps remain the most common methods employed for the disposal of solid waste, much as they do elsewhere (Bright et al., 1995; Zagozewski et al., 2011). In northern communities, landfills or dumps have received typically household and commercial/industrial wastes or waste rocks from mineral exploration and mining activities (Bright et al., 1995; ROLES, 2014; Government of Canada, 2015). Modern engineered landfills are designed to mitigate or prevent the adverse impacts of waste on the surrounding environment. However, the generation of leachate and gas remains an inevitable consequence of existing waste disposal practices and at any future landfill sites, and risks to public health and environment may arise if sites are not well-controlled (Sawhney and Kozloski, 1984; Allen, 2001; Christensen et al., 2001; Eggen et al., 2010). Consequently, the development of innovative locality-specific strategies and methods is crucial to ensuring efficient solid waste management and environmental protectio