Waterline Calgary has moved to a new location. Thanks to the hard work of everyone within our family we flawlessly made the transition to our new office. You can now find us at Suite 210, 4129 - 8th Street S.E. Calgary, Ab. T2G 3A5

Congratulations to Steve Sturrock for celebrating 10 great years at Waterline. Steve's expertise and experience in aquifer evaluation, hydrogeological assessment, source water and disposal zone development, and mine dewatering, has helped Waterline achieve our client goals. He also brings to us a passion for Geology, his dog Rosie, great coffee and a work hard- play hard attitude. Thanks for being part of the Waterline family.

Did you know that Waterline has: - 50 Employees - 28 Hydrogeologists - 7 Engineers - 5 Developers - 4 Offices - 1 Peanut (office dog)

Waterline was recently awarded the 2019 ESAA community service award for our work with Queen Elizabeth High School and Waterline would like to share more information about the project with the broader community to promote similar initiatives. Waterline provided technical and logistical expertise to enhance the learning experience of Grade 9 math and science students at Queen Elizabeth High School in Calgary, Alberta. Together with teaching staff of Queen Elizabeth High School and an educational think-tank associated with the University of Calgary, the Galileo Educational network, volunteers from Waterline Resources Inc. supported an authentic and meaningful learning experience within the Grade 9 Environmental Chemistry Unit, which was used to test and teach best teaching practices to educators across the Calgary Board of Education and educational students at the University of Calgary. Using the Canada Creosote site and associated monitoring data as a case study, students were engaged in an authentic, true-to-life inquiry project that drew upon their skills and learning within the Environmental Chemistry unit, as well as the expertise and analytical services provided by the volunteers. The Canada Creosote site is located in the West Village of Calgary, almost directly across the Bow River from the residential community of West Hillhurst, one of the communities that Queen Elizabeth High School serves. The identified creosote impacts at the site has been monitored by Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) for a number of years and has recently received media attention as it was a proposed site for a replacement stadium (Calgary Next) for the Calgary Flames and Stampeders. Using publicly available information, data, and reports, a multi-staged inquiry-based project was designed to help contextualize a local environmental issue and allow students to perform authentic research and analysis to gain a deepened understanding of the local site within the field of environmental sciences. Waterline collaboratively planned the unit with teachers by: providing publicly available scientific reports and resources; providing teacher's with easy-to-understand summaries of technical information; focusing teachers on the most important information in scientific reports; and helping teachers understand the practical implementation of environmental investigations. In the first year of the program, Waterline designed a bench-scale experiment to mimic how hydrocarbons (molasses and vegetable oil) move through the subsurface in different soil types (clay, sand) to demonstrate the mobility of creosote in the subsurface. An additional activity was designed with teachers during the first year of the program where students wrote letters to affected stakeholders based on their understanding of the contextualized scientific data. This activity allowed students to synthesize scientific data and take the perspective of the letter writer (i.e., the environmental consultant). In the second year of the program, Waterline collaboratively designed an open-house project with teachers, where students will present stakeholder’s perspectives and then collectively attempt to resolve ownership and responsibility of the impacts and a go-forward plan. During both years of the program, Waterline supported the school with planning and implementing a field program to collect samples from the Bow River. Waterline would also like to recognize our collaborators on the project, including AGAT during both years, Intrinsik for completing a presentation about how to write a letter to stakeholders during the first year, and North Shore for providing volunteers during the field trip for the first year of the program. We look forward to continuing this project in the future and working with the students at Queen Elizabeth High School in 2020!

Waterline is proud to be the recipient of the 2019 community service award at the 2019 Remtech Conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Thank you ESAA, Queen Elizabeth High School, and our collaborators (AGAT, North Shore, and Intrinsik)! #remtech #queenelizabethhighschool #northshoreenvironmental #intrinsik

Waterline staff hiked to the Burgess Shale in Yoho National Park this summer and had a great time with our hosts, the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation! #burgessshale

In recent years, our hydrogeologists have increasingly been using geophysics to support our groundwater exploration projects Western Canada Waterline’s hydrogeologists are familiar with the applications and interpretation of a variety of geophysical methods for groundwater exploration in both Alberta and BC. Waterline is familiar with the following geophysical techniques: In-house downhole geophysical logging capabilities: A quick and effective way to confirm geology and assist with screen design and include methods such as gamma, resistivity (SPR or MPR), spontaneous potential, (SP), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), temperature, caliper, spinner, etc. Ground geophysics: Used to map the subsurface in areas with limited borehole information and include methods such as seismic, transient electromagnetic method (TEM), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and electromagnetic (EM) surveys. Waterline’s Approach to Geophysics Waterline’s hydrogeologists commonly use the following approach when using geophysical techniques for groundwater exploration programs. 1. Clearly Defined Objectives Involve the geophysicist early and work with them to come up with a plan that is specific to the site Review the existing borehole and well data with the geophysicist Spend a few extra hours during the planning stage – it will pay off down the road 2. Identified Limitations Each method has its limitations Consider interference with power lines, generators, underground infrastructure, haul trucks Depth of the investigation Different seismic sources have different depth limitations A highly conductive clay unit can mask what is below (e.g., buried sand and gravel aquifer) 3. Set Realistic Expectations Resolution will decrease with depth. Identifying thin aquifer units may not be possible Complex 3D geology may not be well represented by a 2D survey line – may need multiple lines Use geophysics as a tool along with drillers local knowledge and sound hydrogeologic principles Drilling (ground truthing) will be needed to confirm the geophysical results 4. Communication Regular communication between the geophysicist, hydrogeologist, and driller is key Follow up and ask questions. Do the drilling results make sense with the geophysics? If not, what is the geophysics telling you?

Rural landowners depend on groundwater resources for their drinking water and agricultural operations. Consequently, activities that could potentially negatively affect groundwater resources is subject to public scrutiny and debate. Whether perception or reality, the burden of proof tends to lie with the project proponents for hydraulic fracturing, seismic, housing, sand and gravel, pipeline, and coal-bed methane developments. Pre- and post-development testing of the quality and quantity of water supplies: Demonstrates that project proponents are committed to the community; Protects proponents and landowners alike by using scientific data to make informed decisions; Provides an opportunity for Waterline as a third-party to educate landowners about their water supplies, well maintenance, etc.; and Is typically low cost compared to overall project costs. Waterline has tested thousands of domestic water wells across Western Canada and has a dedicated team of hydrogeologists that have been effectively communicating, troubleshooting, and organizing domestic well testing programs for project proponents and landowners since 2000. Waterline’s in-house, customized web app ecosystem is designed to allow clients and Waterline’s hydrogeologists the opportunity to: Use the latest technology to automate reporting, which improves the quality and cost effectiveness of Waterline’s deliverables; View, interpret and organize testing data on a map-based interface using a client or Waterline interface; and Determine if a water well was previously tested by the client, resulting in cost savings.

Waterline was excited to be part of the team that designed, organized, and volunteered at Queen Elizabeth School to enhance their environmental education program for grade 9 students. The program used the Canada Creosote site in Calgary as a way to engage students and included a field trip where students got to collect water samples from the Bow River with "real scientists", as well as a laboratory component at the school. Thank you to all of our collaborators (AGAT for donating their time to analyze samples, the University of Calgary, the Galileo Educational Network, and Queen Elizabeth school)

This week saw the start of the amazing ReDeveLoP 2019 conference in downtown Calgary. For those of you unfamiliar with ReDeveLoP, it stands for Responsible Development of Low-Permeability Hydrocarbon Resources. ReDeveLoP is a recent government-funded student training program, led by Dr. David Eaton (Geoscience Department, University of Calgary). Other academic partners include the University of Alberta, Toronto, Waterloo and Western Ontario. Dr. Tom O'Neill (UofC Industrial-Occupational Psychology) leads the student training in communication and conflict management. ReDeveLoP focuses on training young researchers in the responsible development of unconventional O&G resources. Each year ReDeveLoP students are divided into teams to assess an existing or emerging energy topic that resonates with Canadians. Each team elects a Project Manager and conducts professional meetings on a weekly basis. The student teams take part in a competition (The ReDeveLoP Challenge), and the winning team is awarded a prize at our Annual Innovation Conference. Team members are introduced to university professors, industry partners and Indigenous leaders who serve as resources and mentors to the students. At the 2019 ReDeveLoP Challenge , Mr. Wills, President of Waterline Resources Inc., served as an industry dragon to help judge the winner amongst 4 very well qualified, multi-disciplinary teams. The assessment included dragon’s Q&A with the team members, after each team had presented a poster, a 90-sec video and a 15-min presentation. The team topics spanned wastewater disposal, alternate fracking fluids, induced seismicity and a modification to the current AER Traffic Light System regarding hydraulic fracking-related seismic events. The 2019 ReDeveLoP Challenge students were absolutely amazing, and the O&G sector can only benefit from these future leaders. For more information on the ReDeveLoP program, please visit https://www.ucalgary.ca/science/redevelop/

Have you ever wondered how much of our groundwater is being allocated and used to recover oil, gas, and oil sands resources in Alberta? Oil and gas “companies are using far less water than what is allocated to them. For example, in 2017, the energy industry only used about 25 per cent (260 million cubic metres) of what was allocated to them (about 1 billion cubic metres). That’s less than 0.18 per cent of all the nonsaline water available in Alberta.” Learn more: https://www.aer.ca/protecting-what-matters/holding-industry-accountable/industry-performance/water-use-performance #environmentalconsulting #groundwater #hydrogeology #groundwatermanagement

Waterline is seeking an intermediate or senior environmental consultant in Calgary, Alberta. Learn more: https://www.waterlineresources.com/careers