Consultant says provincial ministries saw Silver Hill problem coming
Norfolk council crossed its fingers Tuesday as it voted unanimously to attempt a capping operation on a gas well in Silver Hill that is spewing toxic fumes.
The operation will occur this year and cost an estimated $750,000.
“We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t,” Langton Coun. Linda Vandendriessche said. “But something has to happen here. People have been waiting a long time. Let’s hope and pray to God that it helps and does not hinder the situation.”
Norfolk County has been grappling with this problem in Silver Hill since an abandoned well on North Walsingham Road 10 began emitting poisonous sulfur dioxide gas in the summer of 2018.
Two gas wells in the area have been capped at major expense since then while other wells – including one on county property on Forestry Farm Road north of McDowell Road – began emitting fumes after these plugging operations were complete.
Norfolk County has spent large sums on consultants’ reports. All have suggested that the Ministry of Natural Resources’ decision to cap a relief well along the banks of Big Creek on North Walsingham Road 10 in 2015 set off the current chain of events.
The latest study on the situation – one which has cost Norfolk $93,000 to date – was performed by Matrix Solutions of Guelph. The hydrogeological study concludes that groundwater pressure in the Silver Hill area increased dramatically after the MNR plugged the vent along Big Creek.
MNR acted seven years ago under orders from the Ministry of the Environment. The latter was concerned that the relief well was spewing toxic minerals and compounds into the Big Creek ecosystem.
Under questioning from Mayor Kristal Chopp Tuesday, Matrix principal Louis-Charles Boutin said MNR and MOE were both aware that plugging the relief well in 2015 could disrupt the water table in the Silver Hill area.
“That was in the public domain,” Boutin said.
MNR has agreed to cover the cost of the Forestry Farm Road capping operation.
Chopp directed staff to secure a commitment from the ministry to pay the cost of Matrix Solutions’ services as well. Chopp said there is no guarantee the pending capping operation will work and – if it does – that plugging the vent won’t displace the problem to one of dozens of abandoned gas wells in the immediate vicinity.
Boutin said there are about a dozen abandoned gas wells within two kilometers of the problem well on Forestry Farm Road. The problem well, Boutin said, is spewing about 55 cubic meters of contaminated water a day. At that level, Boutin said there is a good chance the well can be capped without disturbing the hydrogeology of Silver Hill in another location.
“There is potential for a bad situation to happen,” Boutin said. “We can’t rule that out.”
Now that a provincial election is stirring to life, Chopp would like to see the issue of problem gas wells gain a profile during the campaign. She said there are thousands of abandoned or otherwise poorly capped gas wells in southwestern Ontario, adding Silver Hill promises to have plenty of company going forward as plugs in these wells deteriorate.
“This is one of the hardest decisions since I was elected,” Chopp said. “There are no clear solutions. I think the risk with this continues to be high.
“For our residents’ sake, I hope this is the right solution. It’s not an easy situation. We have to keep a close eye on the situation as we move forward.”