INNOVATION March-April 2014

Dr. Diana Allen, P.Geo., on Salt Spring Island measuring the flow rate of a well that was being drilled. (Photo credits: Dr. Diana Allen, P.Geo.)

capture areas. In nature, those can be a lake, river or ocean. Allen’s modelling looks at the paths that water takes plus the time frame for a recharge once water has been withdrawn from an area. Her studies usually begin with collecting available information on an area from topo- graphical, geological and vegetation maps plus climate data, which is assembled into a conceptual understanding of the system being inves- tigated. “Ultimately,

regarding howmuch groundwater a user can take. That poses a prob- lem for sustainability. A focus of Allen’s work is to resolve that issue by updating BC legislation. Mike Wei, P.Eng., head of groundwater and aquifer sciences in the BC Ministry of Environment’s Water Protection and Sustainability Branch, was on the government’s Groundwater Advisory Board with Allen from 2002 – 2008. “In 2001, the Provincial government updated the Water Act to enable the protection of groundwater,” he says, adding that Allen played a vital role in providing information for regulations on groundwater. “Those recommendations eventually resulted in the establishment of the Ground Water Protection Regulations under the Water Act .” Allen has been part of a technical advisory group to provide expertise to the Ministry on the proposed Water Sustainability Act (which will replace the Water Act ), the first such comprehensive review of the statute in over a century. The new legislation will provide enhanced protection and use of the Province’s watersheds and enable diversification and use of groundwater in BC. “She is really unique in what she does,” says Wei. “She is one of the first groundwater researchers to look at climate change and to model it quantitatively but also to provide a high quality of research that enhances the local communities, the Province as a whole and our country.” Allen has made the importance of groundwater in Canada a national conversation. After 10 years of collaboration, she is one of a group of respected groundwater scientists who have contributed to a newly released book on Canada’s groundwater supply. Edited by Geological Survey of Canada’s Chief Hydrogeologist, Alfonso Rivera, the book, Canada’s Groundwater Resource, looks at topics like ground- water recharge, interaction between groundwater and surface water and sustainability, says Allen.

I try to determine how the landscape, climate and surface geology and subsurface area influence the subsurface water,” she says. This means field visits to collect site-specific data that supports the model. There are other issues with climate change, such as the rising oceans. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that world oceans will rise one metre over the next 80 years. “Recently, I have been looking at coastal systems,” says Allen. Groundwater in islands (and coastal aquifers) is sensitive to sea level rise. They sit on a bubble of fresh groundwater, says Allen, with saltwater below the fresh.

When oceans rise, saltwater displaces the freshwater or mixes with it. The impact can range from compromising the drink- ing water to changes in ecosystems that affect both plants and animals. Knowing how the groundwater resource will change will also impact competing values such as ecosystems, human consumption, agriculture or industrial uses like fracking in the oil and gas sector. Recently, Allen received a grant from the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan, to look at what is called the “water-energy- food nexus” in Northeast BC where the oil industry competes with agriculture for water. “Water is needed for food production but energy is also needed,” she says. “And, there is a trade-off that we have to make.” The research institute, says Allen, is funding a series of studies in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, California and BC to explore risks, resil- iency and trade-offs. One of the problems facing BC, says Allen, is that BC has no legislation

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