Groundwater flow through Pleistocene glacial deposits in the rapidly urbanizing Rouge River–Highland Creek watershed, City of Scarborough, southern Ontario, Canada

The city of Scarborough lies on the eastern margin of the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario, Canada, along the northern coastline of Lake Ontario. The City has a population of 500,000 and is presently one of the fastest growing communities in Canada. The City is expanding northwards onto rural land on the south slope of the large Pleistocene glacial Oak Ridges Moraine system. The moraine system is underlain by a thick (150 m) succession of tills, sands and gravels and is a regionally-significant recharge area for three principle aquifer systems that discharge to numerous watercourses that flow to Lake Ontario. Protection of deeper aquifers from surface-generated urban contaminants is a particular concern.