“The shovel is just the beginning” said Charlotte Yates, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Guelph, during a groundbreaking event to celebrate the construction of the new Morwick Groundwater Research Centre, on Thursday.
The newly-named facility will be dedicated to advancing research on groundwater protection.
“Today we celebrate new beginnings as we begin construction on what will become the Morwick Groundwater Research Centre,” Yates said. “It stands out as one of the most tangible ways in which we can improve life for everyone of us here, our communities, and the world.”
Located on the grounds of the formerly named Bedrock Aquifer Field Facility on College Avenue East, the renovated facility will become a new hub for field research and hands‐on teaching in the areas of management and protection of groundwater resources.
The Morwick Groundwater Research Centre is a central part of the Morwick G360, a field-focused groundwater research institute founded in 2007 and led by Beth Parker and a team of 18 faculty staff, and students that collaborates with more than 20 institutions in 11 countries on groundwater research.
“We would not want to delay this construction for a minute. It is an important part of Beth’s research and her whole team’s research,” Yates said.
Situated on an important bedrock aquifer on the Grand River watershed, at the U of G campus, the renovated centre will offer a unique opportunity for applied groundwater field research.
Recently, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) honoured the ongoing collaboration between the Morwick G360, the City of Guelph and two environmental engineering firms to enhance the city’s groundwater monitoring network with a Synergy Award for Innovation.
“This research is done through a long-term collaboration with the City of Guelph, which draws almost all its water supply from an underground bedrock aquifer,” Yates said.
“Appropriately, the City of Guelph is Canada’s largest city to rely almost exclusively on ground water for its drinking water supply, and therefore, it is fitting that this new centre is here.”
Yates said the university’s commitment to ground water research will help to deepen global impact by advancing research on a natural resource that is so vital to the longstanding sustainability of the planet, and yet, is so often taken for granted.
“Ground water, as the planet’s primary reserve of liquid fresh water, plays a crucial role in irrigation and supplying water for manufacturing, commerce and most importantly, human life. One of our strategic priorities at the University of Guelph is building a sustainable tomorrow," Yates said.
Thanks to a $10 million donation in 2021 from U of G alumnus Edward Morwick, the centre will significantly expand the current Bedrock Aquifer Field Facility.
The new centre will feature:
- A two-storey transparent groundwater well in which downhole instruments will be demonstrated, including a borehole into the underlying bedrock aquifer to link lectures to actual hands-on demonstrations
- A fully functioning research centre with two classrooms that can become a larger room for conferences
- A rock wall in the atrium designed to replicate the Silurian dolostone sequence and formation that is typical of the local bedrock aquifer used by the City of Guelph for municipal, commercial, and industrial water supply
- A rock core library for student and professional teaching and training of research methods will also be established.
With these additions in place, the centre will offer experiential learning opportunities for students, professionals and the public.
“We look forward to seeing this facility come to fruition as an example of the incredible work we can do together to improve life. This facility will serve as a testament to the excellence of this exceptional team,” Yates said.
“Through this work, we are directly contributing to research that is of the utmost importance to the wellbeing of our local, national and global community. Many years of hard work and planning have allowed us to meet this incredible milestone.”
The completion of the new Morwick Groundwater Research Centre is projected for summer 2024.
