Dewatering 101

The 2,400 acre open pit mine must be dewatered, that is a FACT, not an allegation (in case Wes the "crypt keeper" Keller happens to be reading this).

What is dewatering? This is the removal of large quantities of fresh clean water to lower the water table in the area in which aggreates are being removed. The water must be removed at a faster rate than it can be recharged in order to keep th hole dry while they mine. This will result in what is known as the cone of depression, which is NOT the same as the cone of silence that local Councils, both upper and lower tier have apparently intiated with respect to John Lowndes and his shenangians.

What problems does dewatering create?

The water table in the immediate area of the pump will drop. Wells in the draw-down area will have their water levels drop or the wells can go dry. Nature likes to remain in balance. To keep the water level in equilibrium, ground water will be drawn from every direction, for a large radius, to replace the water removed. The direction of the ground-water flow will be altered; all water will be drawn toward the area being dewatered.

Do not forget, more than 1 million Ontarians live in the watershed of the Grand and Nottawasaga Rivers.

While Highlands is mining this massive open pit mine, they need to pump water which presents them with that little "problemo" about what to do with the huge quantities of water they pump?

Well, they are proposing something called a Groundwater Recirculation System (GRS). What is that you ask? It means, to get rid of the water that is pumped, Highland proposes to reinject it into the aquifer.

Altogether now....WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT?

I hear you asking yourself, "I thought the Ontario government was offering, in fact, insisting that if I had an old well head on my property that I should immediately cap it, for fear that a dead mouse, cow shit or some other contaminents were inadvertinently introduced to the aquifer and I ruined mankind as we know it?" Well, you are right the government DID worry about that.

SOOOO, I have to ask, how in the freak could anyone decide that they needed to become more insanely rich than they already are with this harebrained scheme? I would suggest that a highly paid guru, I mean consultant, said a helicopter, yachts and private schools are pretty costly Mr. Lowndes so in order to finance that off the backs of the unsuspecting, let put out some vodoo, hodoo, mumbo jumbo around the Melancthon application and see what floats.

I think we all know that while shit floats, it also runs downhill.... right into the aquifer.

When enough water has been removed, another problem will result called land subsidence. Land subsidence happens when an aquifer is over-pumped. Water between the soil particles is replaced with air space; the soil is no longer buoyed up by the water, the soil surface collapses. The results are soil compaction and sink holes. The soil's structure is destroyed; it will no longer ever be able to store water. These changes are permanent and irreversible.

Lowndes clearly has been promised $$$$ and as a result the life/soul has been replaced with, well nothing, referred to as "human subsidence".

Page 20 of Highlands material presented at their heavily guarded open house on July 25, 2009 in Hornings Mills states: "bottom line-no adverse effects on water".

I would add to the statement "bottom line-no adverse effects on water.....provided you do no live in the watershed of the Grand or Nottawasa Rivers."