Water table dynamics in a constructed wetland, Fort McMurray, Alberta

Spennato, Haley M.; Ketcheson, Scott J.; Mendoza, Carl; Carey, Sean K.

doi:10.1002/hyp.13308

Cited by 22 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The underdrain system was used extensively in 2013 largely for testing purposes. In May 2014 underdrain usage ceased and no further management of OSPW has occurred (Nicholls et al 2016;Spennato et al 2018). Discharge of near-surface water from the wetland occurs via an outflow system that is turned on to prevent flooding following spring melt and heavy rain events.…”

Section: Sandhill Watershed Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evaluation of water quality at Sandhill Wetland: implications for reclaiming wetlands above soft tailings deposits in northern Alberta, Canada

Hartsock

Piercey

House

et al. 2021

Wetlands Ecol Manage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The experimental Sandhill Wetland is the first permanent reclamation of a composite tailings deposit, and annual water quality monitoring is of specific interest for evaluating and predicting long-term reclamation performance. Here, we present water chemistry monitoring data obtained from Sandhill Wetland (years 2009–2019) and compare results to twelve natural reference wetlands and to environmental quality guidelines for Alberta surface waters. By comparing water quality at Sandhill Wetland and natural sites to established guidelines, we can begin to document the natural background water quality of wetlands in the region and examine if guideline exceedances are seen in natural undisturbed environments, or appear only at active reclamation sites. At Sandhill Wetland the dominant ions in near-surface water were bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride, sodium, calcium, and magnesium. Since the first growing season concentrations for these ions have increased annually, causing concurrent increases in electrical conductivity. In year 2019, water chemistry at Sandhill Wetland was most comparable to regional saline fens, systems that exhibit elevated electrical conductivity and high sodicity. Near-surface water at Sandhill Wetland exceeded water quality guidelines for three substances/properties (dissolved chloride, iron, and total alkalinity) in the most recent year of monitoring. The saline fen natural sites also exceeded water quality guidelines for the same chemical substances/properties, suggesting guideline exceedances are a norm for some natural wetland site types in the region. Of note, in each year of monitoring at Sandhill Wetland, dissolved organic compounds evaluated in sub- and near-surface water were below detection limits.

show abstract

Section: Sandhill Watershed Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

An evaluation of water quality at Sandhill Wetland: implications for reclaiming wetlands above soft tailings deposits in northern Alberta, Canada

Hartsock

Piercey

House

et al. 2021

Wetlands Ecol Manage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, studies that examined hydrologic variables (e.g. depth to water table;Rezanezhad et al 2012;Spennato et al 2018;Scarlett and Price 2019) without actually quantifying the degree of alteration from a baseline were classified as examining the…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers, pressures, and state responses to inform long-term oil sands wetland monitoring program objectives

Ficken

Connor

Rooney

et al. 2021

Wetlands Ecol Manage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Boreal peatlands provide numerous ecosystem services ranging from carbon sequestration to the provisioning of habitat for species integral to Indigenous communities. In the Oil Sands Region of Alberta, Canada, human development related to oil and gas extraction occurs in a wetland-dominated landscape. Wetland monitoring programs can determine the extent to which development impacts wetlands, but existing monitoring programs focus on characterizing biodiversity across the region and on compliance and regulatory monitoring that assumes impacts from oil sands development do not extend past lease boundaries. This is unlikely to be true since some impacts, such as particulate deposition, can extend over large areas contingent on local weather and topography. To inform the development of a new regional wetland monitoring program to assess the cumulative effects of oil sands development on wetlands, we synthesized information on the scope of wetland research across the Oil Sands Region, including the anthropogenic stressors that impact wetlands and the wetland characteristics sensitive to different disturbances. We developed a conceptual model linking human development with wetland ecology in the region to make explicit the relationships among oil sands development stressors and different components of wetland ecosystems. By highlighting testable relationships, this conceptual model can be used as a collection of hypotheses to identify knowledge gaps and to guide future research priorities. relationships among We found that the majority of studies are short-term (77% were ≤ 5 years) and are conducted over a limited spatial extent (82% were sub-regional). Studies of reclaimed wetlands were relatively common (18% of all tests); disproportionate to the occurrence of this wetland type. Results from these studies likely cannot be extrapolated to other wetlands in the region. Nevertheless, the impacts of tailings contaminants, wetland reclamation activities, and surface water chemistry are well-represented in the literature. Research on other types of land disturbance is lacking. A coordinated, regional monitoring program is needed to gain a complete understanding of the direct and indirect impacts of human development in the region and to address remaining knowledge gaps.

show abstract

“…Two papers in this issue examine wetland hydrology. In the oil sands mining region of western Canada, Spennato, Ketcheson, Mendoza, and Carey () examined the water table dynamics of a fen lowland over a 2‐year period to determine if a newly constructed watershed had hydrological conditions that facilitate hydric soils with a water table regime similar to reference systems. Both natural and constructed fens exhibited several lateral flow reversals depending upon water level; however, water tables were on average greater in the latter.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two papers in this issue examine wetland hydrology. In the oil sands mining region of western Canada, Spennato, Ketcheson, Mendoza, and Carey (2018) of daily river discharge were developed. Spectral analysis revealed the expected peak in nival regimes in both systems, but also revealed a strong secondary peak at weekly timescale from regulated rivers that was attributed to hydropower production.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%