I have listened with concern to the debate about mandatory hook-up to municipal water systems in Erin and Hillsburgh, and believe another point of view needs to be considered.
In one word – Walkerton.
We can live without gasoline, electricity, we can even live without Gucci shoes, but we cannot live without a source of clean, reliable drinking water. We need to ensure our underground aquifer is protected and preserved for future generations. Previous councils expended considerable money and effort to ensure that is the case.
We now need to reduce the threat of aquifer contamination, because once it is contaminated, it will take generations to return to a safe state.
Every time we punch a hole (well) through the skin of Mother Earth, we are endangering that supply. I am not suggesting people would maliciously do it, but it would take only one accident, one un-secure well and one dangerous chemical to ruin it for everyone.
We have already had a case where we lost a well in the town due to a spill at an industrial plant, and although they have worked hard to prevent it from spreading, it is extremely difficult to deal with underground contamination.
So, we need to ensure old, unnecessary wells are decommissioned properly, that the number of potential points of contamination are reduced, and that there is one system, managed by responsible and knowledgeable employees, that provides us with that most precious of resources. The town’s water employees are among the best in the business, as seen by the almost perfect scores in recent evaluations of our water system. We need to ensure their hard work is not ruined by an unthinking accident.
I have my own well and septic system, and I know it would be costly and inconvenient to have to change to a municipal system, but if it ensures my children and grandchildren will have clean water to drink, it would be worth it.
To minimize the time and cost, the town should put together an inventory of all properties that would require municipal servicing. It should then put out a request for proposals to provide those connections in a timely and cost-effective manner, rather than a haphazard, one-at-a-time fashion.
The town should cover the costs upfront (and maybe the province could be convinced to kick in some funding). Costs could be recovered over time (10 or 20 years), so there would not be an overwhelming burden to homeowners.
For those who say we should wait for the servicing and settlement master plan, I say the final report should be brought forward – now. All the background research has been done, and it is time to act. It will not be cheap, or easy, but we need to take responsibility for protecting our little piece of Heaven, and we need to do it now. I would not want to be responsible for the unnecessary death of one child, or one elderly person, and we will all have to bear that cross if we do not act responsibly.
Council deferred its decision on Tuesday night. I trust when it meets, councillors will make the right one.
