ABERFOYLE – Water taken from an Aberfoyle well by BlueTriton is slightly down in 2023 over 2022 but up slightly at its Erin well. Both amounts taken, the company said, are still well under what it is allowed to based on its provincial permit.
BlueTriton’s 2023 annual monitoring report said the total amount of water taken from the Aberfoyle well, officially called TW3-80, was about 638 million litres or 49 per cent of what it is permitted to.
This is down slightly from 2022 which saw the company take about 672 million litres of water, or 51 per cent of its permitted amount, which was the highest amount taken from the well since 2018.
In Erin, at a well officially called TW1-88, the company took about 42 million litres or 10 per cent of the permitted amount in 2023. This was up from 28 million litres taken in 2022.
The reports noted the Grand River Watershed was under a level 1 low water condition from early January to early September which meant BlueTriton was limited to 90 per cent of their monthly permitted volume.
Ongoing pumping from the wells, the report stated, has not appeared to have led to a long-term water level decline in the well.
“The effects of long-term variability in pumping are observed more in the wells closer to TW3-80 where mean annual water levels correlate with total annual water takings (i.e., increased water takings result in lower water levels),” the report said.
“The influence of pumping decreases with distance from the pumping well. Water levels recover when pumping rates are reduced, an indication that the water taking is sustainable.”
BlueTriton is the company that took over Nestle Waters Canada’s operations, following its sale in early 2021, which includes the Pure Life brand which is bottled in Aberfoyle.
Full reports can be found here.
