The Oak Ridges Moraine Aquifer System, Canada: Data-driven Collaborative Science for Public Purpose

Publication year: 2026

Number of pages: 267

978-1-77470-134-8
https://doi.org/10.62592/YAOO2696

Citation: Gerber, R., Sharpe, D., Holysh, S., Marchildon, M., Doughty, M., Frape, S., Labelle, L., Smith, B., & Shikaze, S. (2026). The Oak Ridges Moraine Aquifer System, Canada: Data-driven Collaborative Science for Public Purpose. The Groundwater Project, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. https://doi.org/10.62592/YAOO2696.

Authors:

R. Gerber
D. Sharpe
S. Holysh
M. Marchildon
M. Doughty
S. Frape
L. Labelle
B. Smith
S. Shikaze

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John Cherry

Released: 1 June 2026

The Oak Ridges Moraine Aquifer System, Canada: Data-driven Collaborative Science for Public Purpose

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Description

The Oak Ridges Moraine is an upland landform extending approximately 160 km in an east-west direction over much of south-central Ontario, Canada. Geologically this part of Ontario is characterized by Quaternary-aged sediments deposited over the last approximately 130,000 years overlying Paleozoic bedrock largely consisting of shale and limestone. Aquifer complexes within and beneath the moraine provide drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people and provide source water to streams which headwater along the moraine flanks. These streams provide key habitat for healthy functioning ecosystems. The study area is dominated by agricultural land use activities interspersed with urban centers (e.g., City of Toronto). Challenges to water resource management and ecosystem protection include increasing urban population and urbanized areas, climate change (increased severe weather events including flooding), and water quality impairment from many anthropogenic land use activities (e.g., road salt, pesticides, nutrients, PFAS). This book describes the geology and hydrogeology of the area, and the development and refinement of the conceptual model of flow system understanding. This knowledge and understanding have been applied to various water management initiatives that exist within the study area. A unique aspect of this book is its link to the Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program (ORMGP), a partnership of local government agencies that collaboratively manage, analyse and make readily available hydrogeological information via an interactive online mapping website. The overall program goal is that Ontario learns from earlier work, and that water related decisions continually improve, having been made using reliable data and interpretations.

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1 THE JOURNEY OF MANAGING THE OAK RIDGES MORAINE AQUIFER SYSTEM

1.1 Collecting, Managing, and Using the Data

1.2 The Transitions in Water Related Decision Making

1.3 Important Steps in the Building of the ORMGP

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Rationale – Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program (ORMGP)

2.2 Canadian Context

2.3 Background – Historical Study Area Context

2.4 Book Overview

3 SETTING

3.1 Physiography

3.2 Climate

4 OVERVIEW OF CURRENT CONCEPTUAL FLOW MODEL

5 GEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Importance of Glacial Geology and Basin Analysis to Groundwater Management

5.1.2 Glaciation and the Great Lakes Basin

5.1.3 Study Approach in Glacial Landscapes

5.2 Basin Analysis Approach

5.2.1 Methods

5.2.2 Basin Analysis Development for the ORM Region

5.3 Geological Setting

5.3.1 Literature Overview of Oak Ridges Moraine Geology

5.3.2 Bedrock Geology

5.4 Glacial (Quaternary) Stratigraphic Framework

5.4.1 Developing the ORM Conceptual Geological Model

5.4.2 Lower Sediment

5.4.3 Newmarket Till

5.4.4 Oak Ridges Moraine

5.4.5 Halton Sediment

5.4.6 Glaciolacustrine Sediment

5.4.7 Sediment Geochemistry

5.5 Building the ORM three-dimensional Geological Model

5.5.1 The Completed ORM Three-Dimensional Model

5.5.2 Model Updates and Geological Correlation and Refinement

5.6 Summary

6 HYDROGEOLOGY

6.1 Data and Analysis System

6.1.1 Data Sources

6.1.2 Long-Term Monitoring – Groundwater and Surface Water

6.1.3 Numerical Model Archive

6.2 Hydrostratigraphy

6.3 Hydraulic Properties

6.3.1 Hydraulic Conductivity (K)

6.3.2 Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity

6.3.3 Estimates of K and T from Specific Capacity

6.4 Groundwater Flow

6.5 Water Budget

6.5.1 Recharge

6.5.2 Numerical Flow System Modeling

6.6 Groundwater Quality/Chemistry

6.6.1 Data

6.6.2 Regional Groundwater Quality Characterization

6.6.3 Detailed Isotopic and Geochemical Study (Waterloo study)

6.7 Water Use

6.8 Hydrogeologic Summary

7 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Groundwater and Decision-Making in Ontario

7.2.1 ORMGP – Thinking Differently

7.3 ORMGP – Groundwater Management Through Knowledge Transfer: An Innovation Hub

7.3.1 Knowledge Transfer 1 – Groundwater Knowledge/Insight Stories

7.3.2 Knowledge Transfer 2 – Groundwater Documents

7.3.3 Knowledge Transfer 3 – Raw Data Plus Interpretation

7.3.4 Knowledge Transfer 4 – Numerical Modeling

7.3.5 Knowledge Transfer 5 – Groundwater Areas of Concern: Pulling it all Together

7.4 Summary

8 FUTURE ISSUES AND TASKS

9 EXERCISES

10 REFERENCES

11 BOXES

Box 1 – Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program

Box 2 – ORMGP Housed Estimated Groundwater Infrastructure Value

12 EXERCISE SOLUTIONS

13 NOTATIONS

13.1 Mathematical Nomenclature

13.2 Acronyms

14 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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The Oak Ridges Moraine Aquifer System, Canada: Data-driven Collaborative Science for Public Purpose

The Oak Ridges Moraine Aquifer System, Canada: Data-driven Collaborative Science for Public Purpose

Description

Interview with the Authors

Sign up for our mailing list

Contents

1 THE JOURNEY OF MANAGING THE OAK RIDGES MORAINE AQUIFER SYSTEM

1.1 Collecting, Managing, and Using the Data

1.2 The Transitions in Water Related Decision Making

1.3 Important Steps in the Building of the ORMGP

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Rationale – Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program (ORMGP)

2.2 Canadian Context

2.3 Background – Historical Study Area Context

2.4 Book Overview

3 SETTING

3.1 Physiography

3.2 Climate

4 OVERVIEW OF CURRENT CONCEPTUAL FLOW MODEL

5 GEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Importance of Glacial Geology and Basin Analysis to Groundwater Management

5.1.2 Glaciation and the Great Lakes Basin

5.1.3 Study Approach in Glacial Landscapes

5.2 Basin Analysis Approach

5.2.1 Methods

5.2.2 Basin Analysis Development for the ORM Region

5.3 Geological Setting

5.3.1 Literature Overview of Oak Ridges Moraine Geology

5.3.2 Bedrock Geology

5.4 Glacial (Quaternary) Stratigraphic Framework

5.4.1 Developing the ORM Conceptual Geological Model

5.4.2 Lower Sediment

5.4.3 Newmarket Till

5.4.4 Oak Ridges Moraine

5.4.5 Halton Sediment

5.4.6 Glaciolacustrine Sediment

5.4.7 Sediment Geochemistry

5.5 Building the ORM three-dimensional Geological Model

5.5.1 The Completed ORM Three-Dimensional Model

5.5.2 Model Updates and Geological Correlation and Refinement

5.6 Summary

6 HYDROGEOLOGY

6.1 Data and Analysis System

6.1.1 Data Sources

6.1.2 Long-Term Monitoring – Groundwater and Surface Water

6.1.3 Numerical Model Archive

6.2 Hydrostratigraphy

6.3 Hydraulic Properties

6.3.1 Hydraulic Conductivity (K)

6.3.2 Aquitard Hydraulic Conductivity

6.3.3 Estimates of K and T from Specific Capacity

6.4 Groundwater Flow

6.5 Water Budget

6.5.1 Recharge

6.5.2 Numerical Flow System Modeling

6.6 Groundwater Quality/Chemistry

6.6.1 Data

6.6.2 Regional Groundwater Quality Characterization

6.6.3 Detailed Isotopic and Geochemical Study (Waterloo study)

6.7 Water Use

6.8 Hydrogeologic Summary

7 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Groundwater and Decision-Making in Ontario

7.2.1 ORMGP – Thinking Differently

7.3 ORMGP – Groundwater Management Through Knowledge Transfer: An Innovation Hub

7.3.1 Knowledge Transfer 1 – Groundwater Knowledge/Insight Stories

7.3.2 Knowledge Transfer 2 – Groundwater Documents

7.3.3 Knowledge Transfer 3 – Raw Data Plus Interpretation

7.3.4 Knowledge Transfer 4 – Numerical Modeling

7.3.5 Knowledge Transfer 5 – Groundwater Areas of Concern: Pulling it all Together

7.4 Summary

8 FUTURE ISSUES AND TASKS

9 EXERCISES

10 REFERENCES

11 BOXES

Box 1 – Oak Ridges Moraine Groundwater Program

Box 2 – ORMGP Housed Estimated Groundwater Infrastructure Value

12 EXERCISE SOLUTIONS