Discover Groundbreaking Research at GAC-MAC-IAH-CNC 2025 in Ottawa!
Join us at GAC-MAC-IAH-CNC 2025, hosted at the University of Ottawa, Ontario, from May 11-14, 2025. This premier event will feature a dynamic scientific program including field trips, workshops, short courses, and technical sessions, providing valuable insights into geology, mineralogy, and hydrology.
The Water section will include a number of exciting sessions, with Steve Berg and Steve Frey from Aquanty co-chairing select sessions. Aquanty will also deliver a short course, offering practical expertise and insights into advanced water resource modeling.
ABSTRACTS
Special Session 7
Title: Surface water-groundwater interactions through recharge, discharge, and contribution to ecosystems
Chairs: Emmanuel Dubois; Marie Larocque; Eric Rosa; Steven Berg; Steven Frey
From the infiltration of water at the soil surface to groundwater discharge zones, groundwater resources sustain various anthropic uses and groundwaterdependent ecosystems. Understanding the complexities of surface water and groundwater interactions, especially through groundwater recharge and discharge is crucial for linking groundwater dynamics to these uses. However, global change – through climate shifts, altered precipitation patterns, warming temperatures, and increased land-use pressures – threatens the current balance and impacts human uses and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Alternatively, Nature-based solutions are increasingly implemented to mitigate the impacts of global change on water resources by leveraging specific ecosystem services. Consequently, a better understanding of the processes involved in the surface water-ecosystem-groundwater feedback loops is urgently needed. This session explores methodological developments and the characterization of processes linked to groundwater recharge, groundwater flow and groundwater discharge, as well as interactions with ecosystems. This session seeks contributions presenting advancements in monitoring, field-based investigations, data-driven analysis, and simulation methods from simple conceptual models to fully integrated numerical models that enhance our ability to track these processes and predict groundwater availability, surface water-groundwater interactions, and ecosystem responses under changing conditions. Contributions on the design, implementation, and performance assessment of Nature-based solutions are also of interest, as they appear to be valuable solutions to mitigate changes in the connections between groundwater and surface water reservoirs and to increase the resilience of groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
Special Session 14
Title: Public groundwater science and policy in Canada: Challenges of jurisdiction, funding and science capacity.
Chairs: Hazen Russell; Christine Rivard; Marie Larocque; Boyan Brodaric; Eric Boisvert
Although groundwater is the source of supply for around 30% of Canadians, and often feeds watercourses, surface water has historically been the focus of most research and studies. Following the creation of Environment Canada (EC) in 1971, freshwater science was seemingly concentrated within the newly funded agency. Environment Canada became responsible for all aspects of groundwater quality, which is intimately linked to water supply. Nevertheless, water has continued to be of concern within 22 federal departments, reflecting its universal importance to Canadian society. Governance of water is vested principally with provinces with the federal government having responsibility in certain circumstances and settings. In response to concerns documented in the 1993 Canadian Geoscience Report, the GSC renewed activity with groundwater aquifer mapping studies and undertook the first regional hydrogeological characterization project in Canada. Since then, the GSC and other branches of NRCan, along with provincial and academic collaborators have been involved in local watershed to regional scale and national groundwater studies. Notable federal influences during this 30-year period on the role and scope of studies was the Framework for Collaboration on Groundwater (2003) and the Senate report Water in the West Under Pressure (2005). Provincially, important programs such as Source Protection in Ontario, PACES (Projets d’acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines) in Quebec, and Waters for Life in Alberta have invigorated and revolutionised groundwater studies in their respective provinces. This session affords an occasion to review 30 plus years of activity, successes and failures, and consider future roles and opportunities. It also is an opportunity to review and question the necessary roles of provincial and federal government, academic, and NGOs in advancing groundwater knowledge, and data management and dissemination for sustainable water resource management. The session is topical as many of the current concerns and issues around the Canada Water Agency and groundwater resources in Canada and worldwide have emerged cyclically over the past 40 years and are more present today than ever before. The session will include invited keynote presentations from recognized experts
Special Session 16
Title: Harnessing large scale hydrologic models to assess future water security
Chairs: Melissa Bunn; Brian Smerdon; Steven Frey
Earth’s changing climate is nudging the hydrologic cycle in ways that society has not planned for. Predicting how rivers, lakes and groundwater are responding to climate change is necessary for sustainably managing water needs for food production, energy generation, and mineral resource extraction while also maintaining ecosystem function. To meaningfully represent the spatial and temporal variation in climate, hydrologic models typically encompass large watersheds and major drainage basins. At these scales, processes like the intrinsic link between groundwater and surface water is challenging to represent and often poorly resolved. This session will explore the development and application of large hydrologic models for climate change assessment, with a focus on regional scale integration of groundwater and surface water. Through the session, we seek perspectives on: (1) how groundwater is represented in regional scale hydrologic and water resource assessments, (2) the importance of groundwater for large scale water management in different physiographic settings, and (3) ongoing efforts to address conceptual model gaps in the application of regional scale models towards water management and security objectives.
DATE: May 11-14 2025
LOCATION: University of Ottawa, 75 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1N 6N6
The conference provides an opportunity for watershed district staff and board members to engage with industry professionals, decision makers, businesses, and each other. It provides a place for celebrating successes, community building, staying connected to new and emerging practices, education, and advocacy for the protection of our water resources.
Visit the conference website by clicking the links below, and discover the full speaker list, and registration details.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit GAC-MAC-IAH-CNC 2025 to learn more about the event and stay updated on program details.