Faculty
Colin Walker
Part-time Instructor
M.Sc., (2002) University of Waterloo, P.Geo., FGC
Phone: (902) 420 5725
Office: S401
Email: colin.walker@smu.ca
Overview:
Colin is a practicing professional hydrogeologist in Atlantic Canada. When he’s not teaching, his work takes him to all parts of the region to consult with cities, towns, government agencies, First Nations, and other groundwater users. Most projects involve an existing or new well field, and the work can range from the development of sustainable water wells to broader issues such as source water protection, climate change adaptation, and regional groundwater quality issues.
Colin’s approach to groundwater flow problems is based on principals of three-dimensional conceptual modelling, regional and local watershed budgets, quantitation of aquifer parameters, principles of contaminant transport, geochemical transformations in aquifers, and risk analysis. He collaborates closely with water treatment engineers, municipal managers, and government researchers to build knowledge of groundwater flow systems and well fields in Atlantic Canada.
Colin is a part-time faculty member and teaches the cross-listed course Principles of Hydrogeology (EARTH/ENV 3340). When the course runs in synchronous format, students participate in hands-on laboratory experiments and practice field techniques at the on-campus field monitoring site. The course is also offered in fully asynchronous format.
Education:
- 2002 M.Sc., Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo
- 1998 B.Sc., Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph
Research Interests:
Research studies have included a field program to assess groundwater and nutrient discharge to the sensitive Placencia tidal lagoon in Belize, assessment of groundwater vulnerability in Eastern Newfoundland, numerical modelling and water budget analysis of the regional aquifer in Summerside, PEI, a study of the regional water table, climate effects, and urban development that influence flooding in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, and development of tools for the assessment of large subdivision developments that rely on individual wells in Nova Scotia. His current side-projects include tools developed in R to streamline the analysis of aquifer testing data and to decompose time-series groundwater monitoring data, to aid in the detection of effects related to pre- and post-construction monitoring. Colin’s graduate research concerned the geochemical transformations, adsorption reactions, and secondary precipitates that affected the transport of arsenic in a plume derived from a gold mine tailings impoundment in northwestern Ontario.
Technical Papers and Presentations:
Feasibility Study for the Application of Riverbank Filtration on the Shubenacadie River. Presented at the Atlantic Geoscience Society 46th Colloquium, Truro, NS. 2020.
Well Field Assessment, Town of Wabana, NL. Presented at the 2016 Clean and Safe Drinking Water Workshop, Gander, NL. Walker, C.B. 2016.
Well Head Protection for Small Municipal Groundwater Supplies in Newfoundland and Labrador. Presented at the 2015 Clean and Safe Drinking Water Workshop, Gander, NL. Walker, C.B. 2015.
Groundwater Use in the Annapolis Valley. Presented at the 62nd Geotechnical Conference and 10th Annual Joint CGS/IAH-CNC Groundwater Conference, Halifax, NS. Walker, C.B., Kennedy, G.W., and Drage, J.M. 2009.
Mobility of Arsenic in an Aquifer Impacted by Gold Mine Tailings. Presented at the Thirty-Seventh Central Canadian Symposium on Water Pollution Research, February 4-5, 2002, Burlington, ON. Walker, C.B., Ptacek, C.J., and Blowes, D.W. 2002.
Transport of metals from mine tailings impoundments and release to surface waters. Proceedings Toxic Substances Research Initiative Regional Conference, Nov. 2-3, Montreal, PQ, 17 pp. Ptacek, C.J., Blowes, D.W., Moncur, M., McGregor, R.G., Walker, C.B., Doerr, N., Rajkumar, J., and Bain, J.G., 2001.
Transport and Attenuation of Arsenic in Aquifer Sediment at the Campbell Mine, Balmertown, Ontario. Presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Special Session “Natural Arsenic in Groundwater: Science, Regulation, and Health Implications”, November 1-10, 2001, Boston, MA. Walker, C.B., Ptacek, C.J., McGregor, R.G., Bain, J.G., and Blowes, D.W. 2001.
Professional Memberships and Affiliations:
Fellow of Geoscientists Canada
Association of Professional Geoscientists of Nova Scotia
Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Newfoundland and Labrador
Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists New Brunswick
Geoscientists Nova Scotia Communications Committee, Web Administrator
International Association of Hydrogeologists-Atlantic Chapter
National Ground Water Association