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Feature Article December 4

Feature Article December 4, 2003

LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb Home

Packed house at Tay Watershed Association meeting

The politics of water

Until late last week, the Friends of the Tay Watershed Association were expecting the new Liberal Minister of the Environment (MoE), HFL&A MPP Leona Dombrowsky, to address their Annual General Meeting, but in the end Dombrowsky was unable to attend.

This did not put too much of a damper on the proceedings, however, as a large crowd gathered to view displays by 11 environmental and political groups; listen to a report by Del Hallett of the Rideau Valley Conservation Association about the results of a groundwater study of the Rideau and Mississippi Watersheds; and hear a primer by Carol Dillon on the prospects for water protection guidelines coming into being over the next few years.

A groundwater study was undertaken by Conservation Authorities throughout the province in 2002, funded 85% by the province and 15% by local municipalities. The Rideau, which encompasses the Tay River Watershed, and Mississippi Valley Authorities worked together on theirs and are among the first to produce reports. Halletts summary painted a positive picture of water within the two watersheds, saying overall water quality is good. 50% of the water samples taken as part of the study showed slightly elevated levels of sodium, and only about 1% of the samples showed nitrate levels higher than the standard set by the government.

In terms of overall water use, about 2% of the infiltration, the total amount of water coming through the system, is used each year by the population. Hallett also said the study found that, on average, the water use is double for people using municipal water as opposed to private wells, although he did not elaborate as to the reason for this.

The study has also found little or no impact on groundwater quality within the two watersheds as a result of agricultural activity.

Carol Dillon, a co-chair of the Friends of the Tay Watershed, is also a self-taught expert on government water policy. After the Walkerton Inquiry, the former Tory government developed three different Acts: the Safe Drinking Water Act, which has come into effect; the Water Protection Act, which is still in the early planning stages; and the Nutrient Management Act, which was enacted in 2002.

Dillon explained that the Safe Drinking Water Act protects the 8 million people in the province that live in urban areas and get their water from municipal systems, but there are 2 million people in the province that have private wells, and it is the Water Source Protection Act that will offer protection to them.

Enviromnment Minister Dombrowsky announced the establishment of an Advisory Committee on water souce protection on November 14. At that time, an MoE press release said the committee will: categorize threats to water; link groundwater protection to surface water management; look at the effects of water takings on the availability and quality of drinking water; and protect both current and future water sources.

The Nutrient Management Act has been the source of much concern in the farming community. Small farmers have expressed concerns they will be forced to make huge expenditures to comply with an Act that only came about because of concerns over the practices of mega-farms.

Last week, the new government decided that the Ministry of the Environment will be overseeing all compliance requirements of the Nutrient Management Act, according to a government statement of November 26. Previously the Act was administered entirely by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, which will now work in partnership with the MoE.

Nutrient Management is relevant not only to farming, but also to septic removal and storage companies. Carol Dillon said the matter of funding the new management practices will be something the MoE will have to look at.

There were many current and former township councillors in attendance at the Tay River Watershed AGM, all of whom have taken an active interest in water safety issues. The biggest question they will be putting forward to the provincial government in the coming months and years has less to do with new regulations than it does with who sill pay for compliance with the regulations.

That concern was summed up by outgoing Tay Valley Township Mayor Mike Mosher, who pointed out that of the 80 recommendations of the Walkerton Inquiry, 70 of them have been passed down to local municipalities to deal with.

Later in the winter, Leona Dombrowsky has promised to speak to the Tay Watershed group. At that time, many will be hoping she has some news about funding support from the province to support municipalities, businesses, and individuals that must comply with new water regulations.

In the meantime, Carol Dillon, and others at the meeting, expressed optimism that Dombrowsky, who is well versed on the issues of the Tay River Watershed, will be able to make improvements at the MoE, which disappointed so many people in Perth last year when it overturned an Environmental Review Tribunal decision limiting the amount of water OMYA incorporated could take from the Tay river.

In the absence of any political or judicial intervention, OMYA will be allowed to increase the maximum pumping rate to 4500 cubic metres per day from the Tay River on January 1, 2004.

With the participation of the Government of Canada