Councillors here are planning to review specific source water protection issues sometime next month.
Council recently considered an announcement of a report on source water protection for parts of Wellington County in the Grand River watershed, and particularly for their own township.
The watershed is part of the Lake Erie source protection area and a panel of experts has been working on regulations under the Clean Water Act of 2006 for several years.
Mayor Bruce Whale noted three councillors and some staff had attended a meeting in Arthur to hear about the report. Whale said there were 17 pages of threats throughout the entire system presented at that meeting.
Councillor Mike Downey said it was a good meeting and indicated the plan might not have as much effect on Mapleton Township as it will on others.
“Mapleton is probably most fortunate when it comes to source water protection,” said Downey. “We’ve just got wells to protect. Thank goodness for heavy clay.”
But councillor Andy Knetsch said he has concerns about old landfill sites and the impact they could have on water. He knows they are generally covered under the county jurisdiction and said it should remain there and continue to be a priority.
Knetsch added, “It’s an awesome piece of legislation, don’t get me wrong. But it’s another instance of downloading,” meaning costs will fall to the municipalities to implement all the new rules and regulations.
But Whale wondered, “Do we want [outsiders] enforcing this? The closer to home we keep enforcement, the more practical we can be. But it does come with a cost.”
He said it will be interesting to see if the province can put effective legislation in place.
As for looking after landfill sites, Whale said there is “a whole lot of regulations to follow under the MOE (Ministry of Environment).”
He said those include tests on closed dumps to ensure they do not leach or reach water sources.
Whale added Downey is correct about the local threats, “when you see what other municipalities have to deal with.”
Whale said the general issues include keeping possible contaminants at least 100 feet away from wells, and limiting the use of pesticides near them.
Still, Whale is pleased with Mapleton’s position.
“There’s still a lot of things [to do] there … But not as much as we anticipated when we started,” he concluded.
