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Hydrogeology of the Moraine
Often referred to as the 'rainbarrel' of Southern Ontario, the Oak Ridges Moraine provides a critical service to over 200,000 people every time they turn on the tap.
Scoured off the rocky earth's crust by giant glaciers, the sand and gravel that composes most of the Oak Ridges Moraine absorbs water quickly. Instead of running off into streams and ponds as it would on soil, water that falls on the moraine seeps straight down, saturating the moraine's sandy core. The clean water that bubbles up from this aquifer feeds 65 river systems.
In the diagram (courtesy of GEOSCAPES; Natural Resources Canada), you can see how the precipitation that falls on the Oak Ridges Moraine is absorbed into a sandy layer that is actually hundreds of meters deep. Here, it is filtered and stored until it drains out via the many streams and rivers that originate from the moraine, and supply fresh water to hundreds of thousands of people, as well as countless green spaces.
Further Reading: Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan Technical Paper #12 Hydrological Evaluations for Hydrologically Sensitive Features ;
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