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***Water, Yes! Pipeline, No!
September 25, 2010 by Jan Andrea Hall
The Guelph Mercury weighs in on Guelph’s water conservation strategy.
Yes to more conservation, no to a pipeline to Lake Erie!
Candidates Need To Talk About Water
Guelph Mercury, Editorial
September 20, 2010
There’s a sobering chart in the just-issued annual report of the city’s water conservation and efficiency
public advisory committee. The line graph plots the city’s annual water production against its population growth.
The population line is ever rising in the 1998-2010 statistical illustration.
The water production is a much flatter line – trending down, with the final year tracked providing the lowest volume flow of water.
During the last civic election campaign, there was some talk of a previously floated remedy
to this dilemma – the option of tapping Lake Erie via a pipeline.
So far, the issue of providing a sustainable water supply for the municipality has produced little campaign talk.
That might change with the emergence of the water conservation report. It would be good if it did.
The city is set to launch a terrific-sounding pilot program related to this policy area.
This week, the community development and environmental services committee will review a proposed incentive plan
to encourage new home builders to establish houses that make smarter use of water.
The program would see builders be able to achieve rebates of up to $2,460 for installing such things as low-flow toilets and taps,
greywater reuse systems, and/or rainwater harvesting systems.
It could be in place by Nov. 1. We hope it is. It appears a wonderful extension of water conservation measures already undertaken
by the municipality such as its promotion of the use of rain barrels and encouragements to replace old inefficient toilets
with water-conserving ones.
More can be done and needs to be in this area, however. The city is aiming to reduce average daily water use by 8.7 million litres of water,
per day, by 2019. That’s an ambitious target and timeframe – before projected population growth during that period is
factored into the thinking.
The pilot Blue Built Home Pilot Program is an example of the type of thinking that will be required to meet this goal.
We look forward to council candidates adding to the brainstorming about else could be done.
Just please, keep the Lake Erie solution bottled up.
For more on this issue listen to Municipal Election Radio, Tuesdays 7-9 a.m. on CFRU93.3fm in Guelph. Remember if you don’t catch Municipal Election Radio live, you can always pick it up later that day via the CFRU archive
or here, on the blog, a day or so later.
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***City of Guelph – Water Conservation and Efficiency Public Advisory Committee – Annual Report
091610_WEG_Water_Conservation_and_Efficiency_PAC_2010_Annual_Report_FINAL[1].pdf
Click here
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***Excerpts from "Environmental Change is at hand" article in Guelph Mercury Sept 21/10
by Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Gord Miller.
"The Great Lakes could end up being the not-so-Great Lakes. Water levels of the four lower Great Lakes are expected to drop
by as much as 115 centimetres over the next four decades. The water that’s left will be warmer."
The problems posed by global warming undermine the credibility of the reigning conservation philosophy of “sustainable growth”
which promised that we could continue to grow without degrading the environment or harming future generations.
People everywhere now need to embrace a new definition of conservation. If that happens, we can reduce the impact on plant
and animal species that will come with climate change.
The new conservation ethic must take into account the cumulative impact of our activities, use a precautionary approach
every time a decision is made, and ensure we don’t penalize future generations. There is no alternative.
We must make do with less, and use what we have more wisely. This is not a choice, but a reality imposed on us, on our children
and on our children’s children, and by the world we have created.
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***Council of Canadians - Guelph Chapter
Questions to the candidates can be found on www.coc-guelph.ca and www.voteguelph.ca.
www.coc-guelph.ca
www.voteguelph.ca
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***canada losing renewable fresh water resources at alarming rate -- 09/13/10
read more: losingfreshwater
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/297448#ixzz10uckivdv
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***candidates need to talk about water -- september 21, 2010
guelph candidates need to talk about water
september 21, 2010
this is an updated version of the mercury’s lead editorial from sept. 20, 2010
during the last civic election campaign, there was some talk of
a previously floated remedy to this dilemma – the option of
tapping lake erie via a pipeline.
so far, the issue of providing a sustainable water supply for
the municipality has produced little campaign talk. that might
change with the emergence of the water conservation report.
it would be good if it did.
read more: candidates need to talk about water
http://news.guelphmercury.com/opinions/editorialopinion/article/689206
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***cool the planet! - dec 8th at 12 noon
let's step it up! bring your signs to support the shift.
guelph is having a family-friendly rally/parade, in st. george's square, to support the u.n. climate change conference in bali. several guelph youth are going to bali for this conference to share ideas for the changes we must make. live music with james gordon and dave sills. street theatre. walt palmer (al gore's ambassador). bring your message on a t-shirt or tea towel to hang on our clothesline. or bring your own clothesline of messages. get out that old t-shirt with the tree, frog or windmill on it. wear something blue, paint your idea on a cardboard fan and wave it in the parade. help us 'cool the planet' and be a bali booster! photos of our message-event will be sent to bali on this day to support the canadian delegation there. more info about the many other participating cities at www.climatechaos.ca
supported by council of canadians, guelph urban forest friends, guelph peace community, wellington water watchers, guelph civic league, canadian voice of women for peace, and guelph environmental leadership , guelph unitarians and others.
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***nestle public meeting results and general update
[posted on wed, dec 5, 2007]
nestle waters canada held a public meeting at aberfoyle public school on november 27th and outlined their plans to develop a second large well in puslinch, on victoria road, near the 401. they plan to use this well as a "back-up" supply, but at the meeting, only committed to this for the next 5 years. many residents attending the public meeting expressed concern that nestle was planning to use this second well to increase their water taking in puslinch.
we are still awaiting the ontario ministry of the environment's decision on the renewal of nestle waters canada's application to renew its permit to take water in aberfoyle. over 6,000 people wrote to the ministry of the environment opposing the renewal, but the ministry still has not made a decision! they have extended nestle's permit, which expired at the end of june and won't likely make a decision until early in 2008. if this concerns you, please write to your mpp and to the provincial minister of the environment. please send us a copy and we'll forward it to the environmental commissioner of ontario, who is watching this permit application with great interest. if you live in puslinch, please also write to your township of puslinch council members http://www.twp.puslinch.on.ca/council/council_members.aspx
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***the next challenge to face: the bottled water 'virtual' pipeline: www.wellingtonwaterwaters.ca [posted on fri, apr 20, 2007]
although the plan to build the pipeline from lake erie to guelph has been stopped for the present, another serious threat to water has emerged: the mass shipment of water out of canada.
www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca explains the threats to guelph and canada's water. the link 'nafta water pipeline plan presentation' discusses the plans to ship canadian water to north america at large. (for example, see the map on slide #21 in this powerpoint presentation.)
this new threat is part of a huge north american bottled water plan that is forming behind closed doors. it is very disturbing to see the environmental costs, plastic pollution, loss of water from watersheds needed for renewal of the source, insecurity due to climate change, privatization of water and the absence of a national water policy.
please check out www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca for all the info!
more information about water issues at www.canadians.org.
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***summary of meeting on the water supply master plan - the mon, oct 2, 2006 city council meeting [posted 3-oct-06]
fyi, the current waste water
master plan is posted at:
http://guelph.ca/uploads/et_group/wastewater/wwtmp/guelphpic-1_panels_oct07.pdf
part of the monday, oct 2, 2006 city council meeting was dedicated to guelph's
controversial water supply master plan. councillors had to vote on
whether to approve the plan. it was a long and arduous evening for all
involved, but we won two victories.
first, after remarks about rainwater collection from several
delegations, some councillors (from the previous city council) demanded that rainwater and grey water
systems should be a bigger part of the plan. an amendment was made to
make sure that this was understood in the main motion.
second, after hearing from delegations from the public that were against any
consideration of the pipeline option (and after seeing all of the stop
the pipeline signs around town!), many of the councillors felt that the
water pipeline option should be removed entirely from the plan. due to
some confusion over whether or not a pipeline had to be considered to
fulfil environmental assessment requirements, councillors decided not to
remove it entirely, but instead remove all traces of it in the plan up
to 2010 - the end of the 'short-term recommendations' period. an
amendment was passed to this effect.
in the end, the main motion carried. therefore, no work will proceed on
studies, etc. of the pipeline option until at least 2010.
unfortunately, this means that the pipeline option is still lurking in
the not-so-distant future. the 4-year term
of the current council will end in 2010, and so:
it will be the next council that decides whether to proceed with a pipeline or not. lets keep this an election issue into the future.
***guelph water supply master plan final draft - our review [posted 25-sept-06]
the new draft of the guelph water supply master plan (127 pages) is now available electronically at the city of guelph's website. it can also be viewed in hard copy at city hall or the guelph public library. in it, the decision about the pipeline option has effectively been postponed until after the coming municipal election in november. (note that if this move will not be finalized unless the wsmp is approved as is by the pet committee on sept 25th (see news posting below), and then by council on oct. 2 (also below). public attendance at these meetings is critical. :)
in the mid-to-long-term windows, the pipeline option is still fully under consideration (a decision will be made after the completion of certain studies).
the following are pages of particular significance to our concerns about the water pipeline [page numbers for electronic pdf document shown in square brackets]
(please take particular note of page 69, which establishes the extreme importance of the november election to the pipeline issue.)
pg. 44 & 45 - [66&69]- description of costs not included in the $650 million estimated cost of guelph's portion of the pipeline. (even this $650 million figure could substantially increase with the addition of a return sewage pipeline, which will probably be required.)
[note: on sept 25, we incorrectly stated that, at the 21-mar-2006 wsmp public forum #2, the city had cited the cost of the pipeline as $550m. in fact, the city had cited $502 to 552m as the cost of the "partial" pipeline option, while they cited $649 to 714m as cost of the "full" pipeline option, which is the relevant option, recommended by the consultant. (see the 37th page in this 10-feb-2006 summary of water supply alternatives report.) therefore, the city has not revised its estimate of constructing the pipeline between the 21-mar-2006 public forum and the 12-sept-2006 draft of the wsmp. we apologize for this misunderstanding.]
pg. 64 - [111] - brief summary of public forum #2, march 21/06 meeting at holiday inn under heading "key issues raised and responses".
pg. 69 - [117] - (8.1.4) establish new surface water supply- regional
"if the city does not participate in the great lakes supply project, the city will need to rely on local surface water, aquifer storage recovery (asr) or groundwater supply in conjunction with the county and adjacent townships. the expectation is that a final decision be reached by 2010 as the great lakes supply discussion moves forward."
this means that the council elected this november will make the final decision on whether to build the pipeline or not!
pg. 69 - [117]
"...given the implications a great lakes supply would have from a waste water discharge perspective. disposal limitations exist locally and would need to be addressed to determine if ongoing local surface water or other discharge can be accommodated as growth increases, or if discussions should involve discharge back to lake erie."
this is discussing the possibility that a second pipe would have to be installed, to return waste water to the source at lake erie, for treatment there, due to a lack of sufficient treatment facilities here in guelph to deal with the water brought to guelph by the uphill pipe. we have asked city staff whether this the cost of this scenario, the second pipe, is factored in to the $649m, and if not, what it is estimated to be.
pg. 70 - [118] -
(8.2) "mid-term recommendations (2010 to 2025)"
"if a decision on the long-term recommendations is made by 2010 as recommended, at most two or three of the following mid-term recommendations would be implemented subject to the results of the recommendations derived from the short-term recommendations..."
(8.2.1) "water conservation and demand management".
(8.2.2) "expand existing groundwater supply system"
(8.2.3) "establish new surface water supply-local" [asr fits here]
(8.2.4) "establish new surface water supply- great lakes" [that is, the pipeline]
"it is recommended, by undertaking and completing the initial feasibility assessments and discussions in the 2006 to 2010 period that a formal decision can be made with regard to the city's preferred long-term water supply by 2010...
"planning and infrastructure could be put in place through the 2010 to 2025 period so the long-term supply could be operational as early as 2017 under accelerated growth as per "places to grow" projections, or more likely for 2025 and beyond, based on more moderate growth projections."
pg. 71 - [119] -
(8.3) "long-term recommendations (2025 to 2054)
"a decision will be made by 2010 regarding the preferred long-term alternatives. during the mid-term (2010-2025) the required infrastructure will be put in place for the preferred long-term alternative, which will likely be operational between 2025 and 2035."
in other words, if the erie ("great lakes") pipeline first becomes one of the short-term (2006-2010) recommendations, and if it is then chosen (by 2010) as one of the long-term (2025-2054) recommendations, work on the pipeline would begin between 2010 and 2025.
pg. 73 - [121] - "estimated cost summary"
" great lakes water supply" (guelph portion only) $649,040,000!
the final cost which could well approach a billion dollars raises the possibility of privatization and loss of local control over the cost of water to guelph residents. we have seen a similar result when hwy. 407 was placed in private hands.
we recommend that our city government negotiate with the provincial government for a growth scenario for guelph that allows us to live within our existing resources. we know that there are better ways for ontario and guelph to grow in an environmentally sensitive manner. |
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