The Sydney Tar Ponds are located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, adjacent to nearly 30,000 people. The proximity, of what is one of Canada’s largest contaminated sites, to a highly populated community poses risks to human health and the environment. The extent of environmental impact included upward of 1 million tons of contaminated sediments and soil over an area of roughly 100 hectares (AECOM, 2013).
The Sydney Tar Ponds include three remediation sites including the Coke Ovens Site, the North Pond, and the South Pond. The Coke Ovens site is roughly 68 hectares in area 560,000 tonnes of contaminated soil (Government of Nova Scotia, 2006; ACOM, 2013; AMEC, 2006). Adjacent to the Coke Ovens site are residential areas in the north and south directions, and industrial and commercial properties to the east and west respectively (Government of …show more content…
The North Pond has an area of approximately 19 hectares (Government of Nova Scotia, 2006, AMEC, 2006; Earth Tech, 2006). The depth of the North Pond varies somewhat depending on location, it is quite shallow with a depth around 1 m closer to inland and a depth varying around 2.5 m closer to the mouth of the pond connecting to the Sydney Harbour (Earth Tech, 2006; AMEC, 2006). The North pond is located next to the Sydney Harbour and is considered to be an estuary. As an estuary, it has relatively higher salinity that the South pond and is subject to tide oscillations. The Cofferdam was built to separate the North and South ponds primarily to control the tidal influxes from the North Pond into the South Pond. The dam is used to control water levels within the South Pond and prevent contaminated sediments from migrating into the North Pond, and ultimately into the Sydney Harbour (Earth Tech, 2006; AMEC, 2004).
The Sydney Tar Ponds include three remediation sites including the Coke Ovens Site, the North Pond, and the South Pond. The Coke Ovens site is roughly 68 hectares in area 560,000 tonnes of contaminated soil (Government of Nova Scotia, 2006; ACOM, 2013; AMEC, 2006). Adjacent to the Coke Ovens site are residential areas in the north and south directions, and industrial and commercial properties to the east and west respectively (Government of …show more content…
The North Pond has an area of approximately 19 hectares (Government of Nova Scotia, 2006, AMEC, 2006; Earth Tech, 2006). The depth of the North Pond varies somewhat depending on location, it is quite shallow with a depth around 1 m closer to inland and a depth varying around 2.5 m closer to the mouth of the pond connecting to the Sydney Harbour (Earth Tech, 2006; AMEC, 2006). The North pond is located next to the Sydney Harbour and is considered to be an estuary. As an estuary, it has relatively higher salinity that the South pond and is subject to tide oscillations. The Cofferdam was built to separate the North and South ponds primarily to control the tidal influxes from the North Pond into the South Pond. The dam is used to control water levels within the South Pond and prevent contaminated sediments from migrating into the North Pond, and ultimately into the Sydney Harbour (Earth Tech, 2006; AMEC, 2004).