SUSTAINABLE REMEDIATION

ASSESSMENT (SRA) FOR THE REMEDIAL

ACTION PLAN FOR PARTS OF PAISLEY
CLYTHE WATERMAIN, GUELPH, ONTARIO
ENEN 653: Contaminated Soil Remediation
Group 3
Ashkan Sharepour- 30165869
Liam Kuppe - 30017088
Nelson Iruonagbe - 30185089
Oluchi Onyeuka - 30169510
Instructor: Dr. Sai Rajajayavel
04/04/2023
OUTLINE
❖ Introduction
❖ Site Description
❖ Conceptual Exposure Model
❖ Conceptual Site Model
❖ Contaminants of Potential Concern
❖ Descriptive Statistics of Detected COPCs
❖ Remediation Strategy Evaluation
❖ Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

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INTRODUCTION
This SRA focuses on the the Remedial Action Plan for Parts of Paisley Clythe Watermain
For the city of Guelph, in Ontario. The remedial action plan was made after the discovery
of buried drums containing contaminated fluids, during the construction of the york trunk
sewer.
During the evacuation of the buried drums, the drums were punctured releasing the
contaminated fluid into the environment. This assessment identifies Sustainable
remediation strategies that reduces contamination and helps provide more sustainable
remediation approaches. (MMM Group Limited, 2014)
The remediation objective is to reduce the concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons,
VOCs and BTEX in the soil and groundwater to below the applicable regulatory criteria.

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 SITE DESCRIPTION
• The site is located in an undeveloped area around a mostly residential location, which was initially prepared
for the construction of the york sewer watermain.
• The contaminated site was secured.
• Geographic survey discovery of subsurface anomalies suggesting buried drums or metals, soil and
groundwater contamination.
• Subsurface investigation was done to access the soil and groundwater quality.
• Potential contaminants of concern found (VOC’s, SVOC’s, PHC’s PCB’s).
• Soil quality: (VOC’s SVOC’s PHC’s PCB’s and heavy metals) detected with a number of compounds above
the concentration threshold.
• Groundwater quality: (VOC’s, SVOC’s PCB’s) detected but within contamination threshold
• Air quality (VOC’s) detected but within threshold.
• Remedial Action Plan:
○ Protective fencing.
○ Confirming location of buried drums.
○ Erosion and sediment control
○ Drum Removal.
○ Trench Excavation
○ Geotextile Installation

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CONCEPTUAL EXPOSURE MODEL

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CONCEPTUAL SITE MODEL

To facilitate the development of an

effective Remedial Action Plan for
Parts of Paisley Clythe Watermain, a
comprehensive conceptual site model
was constructed using the Health
Canada CSM builder tool provided by
the Solutions group in 2015.

This model was designed to be as

inclusive as possible, incorporating
several layers of sand, gravel, and
bedrock, to accurately represent the
site's geology and hydrology.
Additionally, receptors such as birds
and terrestrial mammals were identified
to evaluate potential human and
ecological risks. Buried leaky drums
from industrial activities that occurred
in the area in the 1950s were also
included in the model to provide a
Fig. 1: Conceptual Site Model for the Remedial Action Plan for Parts of holistic understanding of the site's
Paisley Clythe Watermain, Guelph (eSolutions group, 2015) history.
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CONTAMINANTS OF POTENTIAL CONCERN
Based on the results of liquid, soil and ambient air analysis in the RAP, the liquid released from the
discovered drums contained a mixture of solvents, including volatile compounds such as benzene,
toluene, ethylbenzene, styrene and xylene as well as phenolic compounds such as naphthalene, phenol,
cresol and 2,4-dimethylphenol.

Table 1: Showing the Detected COPCs by MMM Group in the Respective

Environmental Media (Soil, Groundwater and Air) 7
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF DETECTED COPCs
The descriptive statistics of detected COPC concentrations such as the 50th percentile provide valuable information about the
distribution and variability of the data. The 50th percentile tells us the concentration at which 50% of the samples have a lower
concentration and 50% of the samples have a higher concentration. It provides information about the central tendency of the data set.
Overall, the percentiles can be used to understand the distribution of the data set and identify any unusual or extreme values.

Table 2: Showing the

Detected COPCs 50th
Percentile and Max
Concentration above
MOE Standards in Soil

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REMEDIATION STRATEGY EVALUATION

Fig. 2:
Soil excavation and drum removal Fig. 3:
Note. This figure is from Akifer In situ bioremediation
Note. This figure is from Kujat, 1999.

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REMEDIATION STRATEGY EVALUATION

Option 1: In situ bioremediation

Option 2: Excavation and soil disposal (Drum removal)
Option 3: Phytoremediation

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 MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS
❖ Multi-criteria decision analysis performed using
Simple Additive Ranking, Utility and
Dominance ranking techniques in DART
➢ Objects: Four remediation strategies
including Status Quo for reference
➢ Variables: Sustainability Indicators selected
in Remediation Strategy

Fig. 4: Relevant Sustainable Development Goals.

Fig. 5: Indicators and their weights.

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MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS RANKING

Fig.6: Total Ranking of

Remediation Methods.

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REFERENCES

● United Nations. The 17 goals | sustainable development. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals

● MMM Group Limited (2014, October). Remediation Action Plan for Parts of the Paisley Clythe Watermain, Guelph, Ontario. The

City of Guelph. https://guelph.ca/wp-content/uploads/Drum-Removal-Remediation-Action-Plan.pdf/

● Talete Srl. (2018a). DART (Decision analysis by ranking techniques) [Software]. Joint Research Centre, European Commission.

Retrieved from https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2018-12/dart2_05setup.zip

● Kujat, J. D. (1999). A Comparison of Popular Remedial Technologies for Petroleum Contaminated Soils from Leaking

Underground Storage Tanks. Electronic Green Journal, 1(11). https://doi.org/10.5070/G311110353

● Soil and groundwater decontamination services. (n.d.). Akifer. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from

https://akifer.ca/en/environmental-remediation

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