[5] After authorities in the United States uncovered an alleged conspiracy by German saboteurs to destroy infrastructure in the USA and Canada, fears of similar plots emerged in Guelph.
The scare prompted an investigation by Ontario's Provincial Board of Health, which sent a team of physicians and a sanitary inspector to inspect the pipeline.
[8] The Arkell Springs Grounds were shut down in April 2020 in compliance with provincial restrictions meant to limit the spread of COVID-19[9] but reopened in February 2021.
[11] An estimated 55-80% of the city's water supply is derived from the Arkell Spring Grounds, located in the municipal "Southeast Quadrant" well system.
To supplement the groundwater supply during the yearly high-demand period between April and November,[15] an artificial recharge system draws water from the Eramosa River into an infiltration trench,[16] keeping the spring filled up to a potentiometric surface so that it can remain at full capacity even as demand from the city drains it.
[15] A Class Environmental Assessment performed by Guelph between 1999 and 2006 investigated the potential expansion of the Arkell Springs system, and a 2009 study found that the Eramosa/Arkell Intake was the only subwatershed of the Grand River at risk of being stressed by local demand.
As the introduced red pine population thins due to poor soil conditions and overpopulation, the Guelph municipal government seeds endemic plants to replace them and create a more diverse forest environment.
In early 2007, the owners of the Cove Valley Farm in Halton, which borders the Arkell Spring area, were granted the 2006 Watershed Award by the Grand River Conservation Authority for conservation efforts such as the planting of 7,000 white pines beginning in 1980 and their construction of a roofed manure storage area which limits the amount of runoff pollution entering the groundwater reserves.
The sections of the Arkell Spring Grounds which are not accessible by marked trails are considered off-limits in order to protect the water supply and limit visitors' exposure to hazards.