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Shell 61 1 issue needs help Updated Mar 14, 2024

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  Update to latest pkgs

Perhaps the " & MORE " would be the addition of a third candidate for the Mayor's position. Chane Ballantyne is the candidate and I guess I'm a little surprised at the relative lack of public experience of all three candidates. Having said that I am remembering how Todd Cowan with absolutely zero municipal experience walked in and got himself elected primarily due to his personal door to door campaigning. Unfortunately despite some good work Todd managed to self-destruct and implode before his first term ended. Bonnie Bryant has the most actual municipal experience with two terms as councillor but to date she has not thrown her hat in the ring for the mayor's job. I guess I would view Eric Schwindt as the most experienced of the current three mayoral candidates.

TRAC, Lanxess, MECP and the Region are all spinning their wheels regarding both aquifer remediation and Creek rehabilitation. The best they've come up with are two recent, fundamentally flawed reports pretending to support the status quo while absolutely not doing so. In fact careful examination of the Jen Lyndal (Integral Inc.) report proves the immense amount of downstream contamination still there fifty-six years after mass dumping on-site and into the Canagagigue Creek ended. The tied for most bizarre aspect of this report was Hadley Stamm's relationship with the author Jen Lyndal, as if that was somehow supposed to be a positive reinforcement of the honesty of the report. 

The second recent weird report was Lanxess/GHD's partial shutdown of Elmira pumping wells which was to somehow indicate again that their pumping regimens had merit and were appropriate. That horse has long bolted as neither NDMA nor chlorobenzene concentrations are at or below the Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS) as they are supposed to be almost literally within spitting distance of them, and are not. Also rest assured there are many more solvents still not removed from our drinking water aquifers although I would recommend much greater focus on DDT and Dioxin/Furans possibly in coordination with greater focus on all the DNAPL chlorinated solvents.

Lanxess and the MECP have been trying to get rid of off-site (i.e. under Elmira) DNAPLS for decades without admitting their existence, using pump & treat technology. Pump & treat was never solely appropriate on its' own and the proof is in the pudding as all parties now admit failure to achieve the 2028 mandated deadline. This citizens and politicians is the result when you leave the fox in charge of the henhouse and you blind and cripple citizen watchdogs.

Maybe just maybe other parts of Waterloo Region may finally take a look at Woolwich Township and learn a thing or two. Lying and dissembling are not the sole prerogative of politicians anywhere. They all participate in targeted truth polishing when the occasion demands. Right now just before a municipal election that includes regional government, the occasion to lie doesn't just demand it; it screams it. Can you imagine the shock, the consternation, the relief and the sheer joy if we threw all the bums out this October?

Waterloo Region claims that the water crisis is passed. Bullfroghooey to say the least. Above and beyond all the contaminated aquifers already listed here over the last few weeks you can add St. Agatha and Wilmot Centre. I'm basing both on the permitted volumes of pumping available versus the tiny amounts of water actually pumped back in the early 2000s. Added to this is the known high concentrations of Nitrates in the Wilmot Centre Wellfield. Seriously folks anybody who thinks that Wilmot Township are going to bail out the rest of Waterloo Region waterwise, are smoking way too much wacky tobaccy. 

Getting back to Woolwich Township mostly what the rest of Waterloo Region should have learned is that talk and puffery are a poor substitute for unbiased science, action and money carefully spent. Right now the rest of Waterloo Region need water from Woolwich Township, not to be continuing to supply them water from shrinking sources. Both the three major cities and the other Townships have a right to know why the promised return to water production in Elmira less than two years away just isn't going to happen and if it does it will require mass introduction of substandard water quality. The other municipal jurisdictions kept their noses out of Woolwich's water woes only on the understanding that the 25 years of Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura  and the MOE/MECP promises of full remediation meant something. In hindsight they meant nothing. They were BULLS**T and the Region themselves kept awfully quiet about   the shortcomings in the remediation, public consultation, lack of cleanup on and off site etc. 

Well Woolwich you've made your bed now lie in it. You, the Region and the Province (MECP) certainly know how to lie so get to it. 

KITCHENER – Yunior Ibarra played the hero role, sending the Jack Couch faithful into a frenzy Thursday night.

His grounder in the bottom of the ninth allowed the winning run to come in, as the Panthers beat their Highway 7 rivals from Guelph 6-5.

Zane Skansi - who pinch ran for Malik Williams - slid home safely after Royals catcher Matthew Ward bobbled the throw home from Garrett Takamatsu, who came in to play as a fifth infielder.

It capped off a stunning bottom of the ninth. Kitchener, down by a run, loaded the bases with nobody out.

Jackson Cooke walked to score Petey Kiefer before Ibarra's heroics.

Ben Hewitt, who came into the ballgame with the bases loaded in the seventh, picked up his first win of the season. Hewitt struck out three in this one, while going 2.1 innings.

The game went back-and-forth.

Trent Lawson hit a three-run home run in the first off former major leaguer Edgar Garcia.

But Garcia settled in after that, striking out 10 in six innings of work. All the while, Guelph scored four to take the lead.

Not for long. Mateo Zeppieri took Brandon Deans' first offering of the night over the fence to tie the game up again.

“It was a huge team win for us,” said Shanif Hirani, who is now 2-0 as the team's field manager.

“We had contributions up and down the lineup and our pitchers gave us a chance. We gave up our lead early, but they never gave in. We kept stacking good at-bats until we could break it open in the end.”

Kitchener improves to 12-24 on the season, while Guelph drops to 21-16.

The Panthers now go into a home-and-home with the Barrie Baycats. 

Saturday, they will head north before returning for a Sunday matinee at Jack Couch Park.

First pitch flies at 2:05 p.m.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW and #PackTheJack!

♦

(Image is of Freya, a tortoiseshell tabby, sitting curiously on a new faux-leather kitchen chair. A second chair is dismantled on the ground next to her)

Well, if the state of the author is “busy,” I hope that helps explain why there was no update in July. Finishing up Keepers of the Flesh while getting Alien Olympus out absolutely ate my time around the turn of last month.

(I still haven’t released the Ingram paperback of Alien Olympus, for that matter, as the initial proof I received wasn’t usable. I had to redo the cover and it takes them forever to get my my proofs.)

Everything is trucking along at this point. I’ll be setting up the preorder for Keepers in the next few days. It does look like the audiobook will come out after the ebook and paperback release, as a heads up there.

Schedule for the next few books is currently:

September 24 – Keepers of the Flesh (Saints of the Void 2)

November 26 – Wildcard (House Adamant 6)

January 21 – Sisters in Magic (Spirit Knight 2)

March 25 – Project Acropolis (Starship’s Mage 20)

I am currently hoping to do the last Aether Spheres Kickstarter this fall, but I don’t even want to schedule that until I have fulfilled the last pieces of Void Spheres and the leatherbounds are delayed.

Happy reading everyone!

-Glynn Stewart

The post State of the author August 2026 appeared first on Glynn Stewart.

Am I being too generous thanking all the twits, liars, politicians, self-serving bureaucrats and local influencers for effectively isolating my knowledge and input from the problem at hand, namely restoring both our aquifers and our Creek? Of course I am. I wonder how the long departed from active duty APTE members feel these days. They sat back and let Susan Bryant carry the torch with assistance first from Sylvia Berg and later Pat Mclean. Those two ladies were her "wingmen" and they and Susan did their  job well which was to appear to be the voice of the people while constantly greasing the skids for Uniroyal, Crompton, Chemtura, Lanxess and the corrupt Ministry of Environment. 

2028 is the mandated deadline for restoring our drinking water aquifers. While that date is only sixteen months away, of course as the MOE/MECP set it they can and will define it and or redefine it as they please. The master manipulaters have never rested. They know that public perception and opinion can be lost with but one major screwup, fire, explosion or even revelation that contradicts their carefully crafted narrative. Despite all this I would rather be at arm's length distance from the train wreck that is RAC/TAG, and TRAC. I personally want no part of a train wreck that I warned against for decades despite my confidence that those in charge are working very hard for a soft landing. Selling their lies to the public has been easy as long as all authorities were on board. Furthermore the precarious state of the media, particularly newspapers, has made their jobs much easier. The last thing newspapers want to do right now is to alienate corporate Canada or U.S.

Fantastic claims will be made by Lanxess and fellow travellers. The Region of Waterloo will go along depending upon the support they receive in kind from the other parties as the Region's water failures further are exposed. Same with the Ministry of Environment (MECP). Show them some love and they will respond in kind by agreeing with all kinds of corporate nonsense about slowing groundwater pumping to protect the environment to using the water in the Elmira Aquifers for socially positive effects. Maybe with enough treatment and dilution they can add our aquifers to the Region's overall water system, the IUS (Integrated Urban System). Rest assured the polluter, the regulator, the politicians and the media will all join in lockstep to declare victory. I declare this the reverse Richard Nixon as they snatch victory from the very jaws of grotesque failure and defeat.

♦

Toronto Home Energy Network (THE Network) is recruiting up to two at-large members to join our Board of Directors.
We are looking for people who want to help Toronto homeowners reduce their energy use and carbon emissions. New directors will bring additional skills and perspectives to the Board and help strengthen the organization as it grows.
This is a working board. Directors help set THE Network’s direction, but they also contribute directly by chairing committees, building relationships and taking on projects.

We are recruiting for two types of experience, described below. You do not need to fit both profiles. In your cover letter, tell us which role you are applying for.

THE Network is a grassroots, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to reducing carbon emissions from Toronto’s homes. Launched in 2023 by the leadership team behind the Pocket Change Project, we use a proven approach, collaborating with community groups across Toronto and a network of partners to provide homeowners with peer support and expert personalized assistance as they plan and implement their home’s decarbonization. With single-family homes causing nearly one-fifth of Toronto’s emissions, electrifying these homes is essential to achieving the city’s goal of net-zero community-wide emissions by 2040.

Board members are expected to:

• Attend monthly Board meetings and occasional events
• Take part in Board business through an officer role or committee work
• Oversee THE Network’s strategy, finances and policies
• Support fundraising based on their skills, experience and relationships
• Represent THE Network with funders, partners and community groups

We welcome applications from candidates who:

• Are committed to THE Network’s mission of reducing home carbon emissions
• Are residents of Toronto or have strong ties to the Toronto community
• Have prior non-profit and/or board experience (preferred but not required)

Beyond that, we are recruiting for two distinct profiles.

Seed funding allowed THE Network to get started. We have applied for charitable status and expect a decision this fall. Charitable status would allow us to pursue foundation grants and individual donations that are not currently available to us.

Our next task is to build reliable, longer-term funding and put the right governance in place to manage it.

You may bring experience in fundraising, governance or both. Please explain your area of experience in your cover letter.

Strength in one or both of the following areas:

• Fundraising: Experience with corporate sponsorships, foundations, major gifts, community fundraising or government grants. A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation is an asset but is not required.
• Non-profit governance: Experience as a board or committee member, or as a senior staff member who has worked closely with a board. You should also be interested in how boards can govern effectively.

• Able to make a clear and persuasive case to funders and donors
• Comfortable making introductions and maintaining relationships
• Good judgment on governance and financial oversight
• Collaborative and open to feedback from volunteers and homeowners

This is a Board position with a temporary operating role attached.

For roughly the first six to nine months, you would help manage some of THE Network’s day-to-day operations while we build staff and volunteer capacity.

The operating role is temporary, but the Board position is not. You would serve a full three-year term and remain on the Board after the operating work ends.

Experience managing an organization, program or team in any sector

Familiarity with volunteer management or community program coordination

Experience creating processes and tools that volunteers can use independently is an asset

• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Strong interpersonal or volunteer management skills
• Clear and approachable written and verbal communication
• Able to manage several tasks independently
• Comfortable working with limited resources and changing priorities

The Board meets once a month, usually in person, at a time that works for the group. A virtual option is available when needed.

Board members serve three-year terms and may renew for one additional consecutive term. In addition to Board meetings and occasional events, directors are expected to take on an officer role or contribute through committee work. Directors are also encouraged, but not required, to take part in THE Network’s community activities.

The interim operations director should expect a larger time commitment during the first six to nine months. We will discuss the expected workload during the interview process.

THE Network is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture in all areas of our organization. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Please send a resume and brief cover letter describing your interest to HR@thenetwork.to. In your cover letter, please indicate which of the two profiles above you are applying for.

We’re reviewing applications as they come in and scheduling interviews as we go. This posting will be removed once the positions are filled, so we encourage you to apply right away.

If you’re interested but not ready to take on these board positions, we would still like to hear from you! Please review our available volunteer opportunities and apply if you feel you are a good fit.

We thank all candidates for their interest, though we will contact only those selected for an interview.

The post appeared first on Capacity Canada.

A persistent workspace for development work that self-improves and continues beyond one session.

Python 2.4k Updated Aug 9

Strict separation of config from code.

Python 3k Updated Nov 28, 2024

There is a church in downtown Kitchener that is making a difference in addressing the problem of homelessness.♦

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church has been part of the Kitchener-Waterloo community since 1854.

For more than 170 years, this faithful congregation has had an impact on the world outside its doors through humble ministry, with a special focus on homelessness and poverty. Over the years, that has included House of Friendship’s Potato Blitz, opening its doors as an emergency shelter in winter, or participating in the Coldest Night of the Year walk to support people experiencing homelessness.

Last summer, the church also partnered with St. John’s Kitchen and St. Peter’s Church to provide weekly meals to people living in the nearby homeless encampment.

And for the past three years, this incredible congregation of hope-filled people has also supported House of Friendship’s ShelterCare program through Adopt A Room. Their care and compassion provide 365 days of shelter, rest, healthcare, and other essential support for someone experiencing homelessness.

For Jan Blackburn, lead of the outreach team at St. Andrew’s, all of this intentional mission work in downtown Kitchener is simple: “It’s what Jesus preached, to look after others, to support those who have need. It’s what we’re called to do.”

“And because we’re a downtown church, it’s on our doorstep, literally,” said Jan. Every day, people sleep in the church’s doorways, seeking comfort and shelter for the night. “We see the need every day. We can’t ignore it.”

A statue at the front of the church underlines the heart of this congregation. Called “Homeless Jesus,” it features Jesus sitting on a sidewalk, reaching out his hand, looking for someone to care.

The statue reminds the church, and all who pass by, that we all have a responsibility to care for those in our midst.

Adopt A Room Supporters Provide

• 1,095 hot, nutritious meals
• A real bed, with clean sheets and warm comforters
• Life-skills programming 
• Support to find housing
• Access to medical care and counselling
• Access to addiction services

If you are interested in learning more about Adopt A Room, please reach out to Development Director Natalie Schill, at natalies@houseoffriendship.org.

LEARN MORE

Adopt a Room QR Code

The post What We’re Called to Do appeared first on House Of Friendship.

An email and SMTP testing tool with API for developers

Go 10.1k Updated Aug 8

The post Extended Annual Membership Sale! appeared first on Grand River Rocks Climbing Gym.

The post *NEW* Annual and 1 Month Gear Rentals appeared first on Grand River Rocks Climbing Gym.

This would be the long contaminated Parkway Wellfield located near Fairway Rd. and Manitou Dr. There are three wells there named K31, K32 and K33. Allegedly the DNAPL chemical (TCE) is found in only one of the wells namely K32. That does not make much sense to me as they are all located close together and what is one should certainly be drawn into the others. Further examination has shed some light on this anomaly. In fact TCE (trichloroethylene) has been detected in all three wells however the text in the July 29, 2025 Grand River Source Protection Area  Assessment Report states " Trichloroethylene is generally not detected (< 0.5 ug/l) at wells K31 and K33". In fact it is detected regularly at low levels and occasionally especially in K33 at higher levels. 

Other health problems include sodium and chloride concentrations being too high. While some of this may be due to road salt it is also common for higher chloride levels in solvent contaminated groundwaters especially chlorinated solvent contaminated groundwater. 

TCE (trichloroethylene) is highly toxic. It both kills and causes extreme health effects from neurological symptoms to various cancers including leukemia. This solvent once was commonly used and abused throughout Waterloo Region industries as a degreaser for metal parts. Workers suffered the brunt of the health damages although the Bishop St. community in Cambridge suffered greatly from Northstar Aerospace mishandling of it as well as at least one other company across the road from Northstar.

Waterloo Region advises in this same Grand River Protection Area report that "...the source of the TCE to well K32 is unknown." I believe that that statement is false as my understanding for years is that there was formerly an Electrohome site also known as Deilcraft located nearby. Also oddly I recollect years after the fact a remediation attempt being done to clean up TCE from that industrial site. Obviously they didn't get all the TCE DNAPL which is unsurprising considering how DNAPL can disperse in the subsurface. The proof of course all these decades later is the dissolved TCE still in the groundwater. Take note Elmira with your ongoing chlorobenzene (DNAPL) contamination.

Happy drinking when this contaminated wellfield rejoins its' fellow retreaded wells into the drinking water regimen. Hey folks we have to keep our well healed developers, builders and politicians happy and if it requires personal sacrifice, so be it. 

CHATHAM-KENT - The losing streak is over!

Yosuke Fujie hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning, which proved to be the difference-maker as Kitchener beat Chatham-Kent 8-5 Tuesday night at Fergie Jenkins Field.

The win snapped a nine-game losing skid for Kitchener, as the team collected its first win after the all-star weekend.

Chatham had a 4-3 lead before Mateo Zeppieri hit a two-run shot in the fourth to give Kitchener a one-run lead.

Yushin Ohta's solo shot in the seventh tied the game.

Jorge Minyety gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits in three innings in the start for Kitchener. Ernesto Punales collected the win after two scoreless innings of work.

Kitchener improves to 11-24 on the year, while the Barnstormers fell to 9-24.

The Panthers host Guelph Thursday at 7:05 p.m.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW and #PackTheJack!

There are many reasons. Contempt and disrespect are right up there. Politicians were once ordinary people just generally a little lazier and a little more bent. This of course is a significant generalization as you will find occasional doctors and lawyers sitting in both provincial and federal governments. Both had to have money and ambition presumably along with hard work to get their degrees etc. Of course you will also get golf pros, their sons, drug dealers and all the rest sitting as M.P.s and M.P.P.s. Hence many of the lazy, unprepared for honest work politicians see others just like themselves sitting in legislatures and parliaments as well as on municipal councils and realize that citizens themselves are lazy enough and dumb enough to vote in riff raff. Hard to respect the public based upon the choices they make to represent themselves in government.

The public are occupied with keeping their jobs and hence salaries and wages. Non union work especially requires constant vigilance and watching which way the wind is blowing. More jobs are lost due to personality clashes than to inability to do the job. Citizens know that constantly toeing the line also means in non work matters and opinions that do not match your supervisor's or bosses. Political complacency by the public results from feeling detached from all decisions and having zero say in them. Again expressing strong political opinions at work can eventually lead to your head on the chopping block albeit employers are smart enough to dredge up some kind of pathetic work related excuse prior to dropping the axe. 

Politicians have learned that voters have short memories and long loyalties. Most first time voters follow their parents footsteps. Voters only vote about every four years and in between it's all about keeping their jobs , raising families and if they are fortunate at today's prices, buying homes. Then there are school issues, bills, social lives and so many important, in your face matters on a daily basis.

Politicians do learn on the job. They learn how to lie via using weasel words and phrases that allow them to backtrack when necessary.  Phrases like "when necessary" or "under the circumstances" gives them an out when their statements become ridiculous down the road. Quoting made up statistics that can never be checked such as "Canadians are fearful of gun violence" is a good example to justify whatever stupidity is the flavour of the day. Inventing crises is also a tool for ethically challenged politicians. So is using a legitimate crisis such as Tumblur Ridge in British Columbia. Odd how we learned that a disturbed individual committed firearms murders but we still have no knowledge as to why the authorities had returned those previously seized firearms to the family. Nor do we know if the "guilty" firearms used are on the government's banned list or not. All very strange how we the public are kept in the dark on important matters strongly related to current and ongoing highly criticized government initiatives and activities.     

Politicians are masters at deflecting appropriate criticism. That unfortunately is their greatest strength. 

♦

If you’ve ever considered serving on a Nonprofit Board but weren’t sure where to begin, you’re not alone. For many first-time board members, knowing where to start, what’s expected, and whether they have the right experience can feel like a challenge.

Capacity Canada’s ModernBoard program, delivered in collaboration with Conestoga College, is designed to help bridge that gap. Registrations are now open for Course One: Essentials of Governing, offering aspiring board members the knowledge and confidence to take the first step toward meaningful community leadership.

Since 2020, more than 1,000 Nonprofit board members from across Canada have successfully earned ModernBoard credentials.

“This course encouraged me to listen, learn, pause, and reflect, positioning me well for both my current role and future board opportunities,” says Ann Schultz, one of the participants.

Whether you’re looking to give back, grow your leadership skills, or prepare for your first board position, the program offers practical training from governance experts and a pathway to becoming a stronger advocate for the causes you care about.

To learn more and to register, visit our website.

The post Registrations for the ModernBoard Essentials program are open! appeared first on Capacity Canada.

♦After more than 30 years working in global health and international development, Gail knows what it means to lead through change. Her career has taken her from community health programs in Zambia to post-tsunami recovery efforts in Indonesia, along with leadership roles across Africa and Asia. Throughout her work, Gail has partnered with governments, non-profit organizations and international agencies to strengthen health systems and improve access to HIV prevention and treatment.

Today, Gail works as a leadership coach, supporting mid-career and senior leaders as they take on new responsibilities, navigate change and make important career decisions. As a certified Professional Integral Coach®, she helps clients better understand how they lead, explore new perspectives and develop approaches that support their growth.

With her extensive experience in leadership, international development and organizational change, Gail brings a valuable perspective to the Capacity Canada community.

We look forward to the insights and experience Gail will share with fellow members.

The post Introducing Gail Steckley: Capacity Canada’s Newest Member appeared first on Capacity Canada.

♦

Applications are now open for Capacity Canada’s annual initiative Creative Day for Social Good (CD4SG).

For many Nonprofit organizations, there’s no shortage of ideas, just not enough♦ time, staff, or budget to make them happen. Whether it’s refreshing a website, creating a stronger brand, launching a new campaign, or telling stories that inspire donors and volunteers, communications projects often end up on the back burner while day-to-day priorities take over.

♦CD4SG creates a connection between organizations looking for creative support and students eager to use their skills for good. Made possible through a partnership with professors and students in Conestoga College’s Creative Industries programs, especially Graphic Design, the initiative brings together Nonprofit organizations, charities and social enterprises with emerging creative professionals for a day of focused, hands-on collaboration.

As part of the one-day, pro bono initiative, students volunteer their time and♦ talents to work alongside organizations on real communications challenges. Together, they tackle projects such as refining a brand, developing marketing materials, strengthening digital communications or finding a clearer, more compelling way to tell an organization’s story.

Applications for Creative Day for Social Good close at midnight on August 21, and space is limited.

To learn more and to apply, please visit our website.

The post Applications for CD4SG are open! Apply by August 21 appeared first on Capacity Canada.

Yakirevich, A., Coffin, A., Widmer, J., Pisani, O., Hill, R., & Pachepsky, Y. (2026). Modeling E. coli fate and transport in and around a cattle pond. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 30(12), 3805–3823. doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3805-2026

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

“Accounting for the complexity of hydrogeological and hydrochemical processes, we choose the HGS (Therrien et al., 2010) as a basis for the model. In HGS, the flow of water is simulated in a fully integrated mode; water derived from rainfall inputs is partitioned into components such as overland and stream flow, evaporation, infiltration, recharge, and subsurface discharge into surface water features such as lakes, streams, and wetlands in a natural, physics-based fashion. It employs a fully coupled numerical approach, allowing the simultaneous solution of both the surface and variably saturated subsurface flow, solute transport, and heat transfer.”

Fig 3. Numerical model setup: (a) The 2D triangular finite element mesh in the simulation domain. Cowpats (a flat, round piece of cow dung) are located in the yellow color area. Colored circles represent the location of sources to simulate cattle excretion in the pond. (b) Schematic representation of numerical mesh layers in the simulated profile. Solid and dashed horizontal lines represent the boundaries between layers and sublayers, respectively. (c) 3D finite element mesh (FEM).

We're pleased to highlight this publication by Alexander Yakirevich and colleagues, which explores the fate and transport of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in and around a cattle pond using HydroGeoSphere (HGS). The study presents a fully integrated surface water–groundwater model that simulates the hydrology of a small watershed (~0.45 km²) alongside microbial transport, providing new insight into how livestock activities influence water quality in agricultural watersheds.

Understanding how microbial contaminants move through agricultural watersheds is essential for protecting water resources used for livestock, irrigation, recreation, and downstream ecosystems. While runoff from grazing lands is widely recognized as a source of bacterial contamination, the relative importance of different transport pathways—including overland flow, subsurface flow, and direct livestock deposition into ponds—has remained difficult to quantify. Traditional monitoring alone cannot capture these complex interactions, highlighting the need for integrated physics-based modelling approaches.

Fig 11. Simulated spatiotemporal distribution of the relative E. coli concentration at the surface. Cr = C/Cmax, Cmax = 1.4×10^10 MPN m−3, the legend is on a log scale.

To address these challenges, the researchers developed a fully integrated HydroGeoSphere (HGS) model of a 0.45 km² cattle-grazing watershed in Georgia, USA. The model coupled three-dimensional variably saturated groundwater flow with two-dimensional surface water flow and simulated E. coli transport using coupled advection-dispersion equations that account for bacterial release from cowpats, sorption, and temperature-dependent inactivation. Field observations collected over multiple years—including weather data, pond water sampling, manure sampling, and automated trail camera imagery tracking cattle activity—were incorporated to realistically represent bacterial loading from both grazing areas and cattle entering the pond.

The simulations successfully reproduced the overall spatial and temporal patterns of E. coli concentrations throughout the pond without requiring extensive model calibration. The most significant finding was that direct deposition of manure by cattle standing in the pond contributed approximately two orders of magnitude more E. coli than surface runoff from surrounding grazing lands. The study also demonstrated how seasonal weather conditions, bacterial die-off rates, and livestock behaviour influence microbial concentrations, while highlighting additional factors—such as waterfowl activity and pond mixing—that may explain observed concentration spikes not captured by the model.

HydroGeoSphere was central to this work because it enabled the researchers to simulate the complete hydrologic system within a single, fully coupled modelling framework. By integrating surface water flow, variably saturated subsurface flow, microbial transport, evapotranspiration, and dynamic bacterial loading from livestock, HGS provided a process-based understanding of how microbial contamination develops and moves throughout the watershed. This level of integration allowed the researchers to distinguish between competing contamination pathways and evaluate their relative importance under real-world conditions.

This work demonstrates how integrated hydrologic modelling can improve our understanding of microbial water quality in agricultural watersheds. By combining field observations with HydroGeoSphere's advanced surface water–groundwater modelling capabilities, the researchers developed a practical framework for predicting E. coli contamination using readily available data. The findings provide valuable guidance for consultants, watershed managers, and agricultural professionals seeking to identify the primary sources of microbial contamination and develop more effective water quality management strategies.

Interested in seeing how this research evolved? Before the full journal publication, the team presented this work as a conference poster highlighting the development of the HydroGeoSphere model and the early findings. Read our previous research highlight on the poster by clicking the link below.

CLICK TO READ THE PREVIOUS HGS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT – Modeling fate and transport of E. coli in a small watershed with grazing lands around a pond.

Abstract:

Contamination of surface water is a concern for public health. Lands used for animal production are sources of fecal microorganisms that can reach water bodies, impact their quality, and adversely affect their potential uses. Understanding the mechanisms of microbial transport through surface/subsurface flow is imperative to predict surface water contamination and to assign management strategies for enhanced water quality. The aim of this work was to develop and test a mechanistic numerical model to simulate watershed-scale surface/subsurface water flow, bacteria release from cow manure, and their fate, as well as transport to a cattle pond. The integrated surface-subsurface hydrological platform HydroGeoSphere (HGS) was the basis for the site-specific model. The pond and its environs were monitored for 15 months for Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations, which remained relatively high throughout the study. The model was applied to simulate E. coli bacteria transport in a grassed drainage basin grazed by a permanent herd of approximately 50 cattle. Most model parameter values were adopted from the literature. The model explicitly accounted for cow excretion to the pond as a source of microbial contamination. The latter was estimated from the time spent by cows in the pond, which in turn was estimated from imagery obtained with eight trail cameras installed to cover the pond surface. Images were obtained every 15 min. Simulations for two years showed that the non-calibrated model replicated spatiotemporal patterns and peak E. coli concentration reasonably well. The E. coli cumulative flux loaded by cattle excretion directly to the pond was around two orders of magnitude greater than that with the surface flow. The results demonstrate that mechanistic watershed-scale modeling combined with observational data on cattle behavior can provide useful predictions of microbial contamination in cattle ponds using only readily available data.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

Utility library for gitignore style pattern matching of file paths.

Python 231 Updated Jun 4

KITCHENER - The go-ahead run got to the plate with one out in the ninth.

But the Kitchener Panthers couldn't find a way to cash in a run, as the team lost its ninth in a row 3-0 in Guelph Saturday night.

The Panthers managed to get eight hits on the night but ended up stranding seven runners.

Trey Cruz went just two innings in his CBL debut, giving up all three runs in the second inning. He surrendered four hits, walked one and struck out three.

The rest of the bullpen kept the Royals off the board. Ben Hewitt, Ernesto Punales and Jake Liberta struck out nine combined batters and didn't walk anyone.

Malik Williams went three-for-four in the defeat, extending his hitting streak to five games. He leads the league with a .431 batting average among qualifying hitters.

Kitchener falls to 10-24 while Guelph improved to 20-14.

The Panthers are on the road in Chatham-Kent Tuesday, before hosting the Royals Thursday at 7:05 p.m.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW and #PackTheJack!

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Python 558 Updated Aug 8