HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-04-16, Page 1After resolving a few operational
issues in 2008, the new Belgrave
water system is working well,
officials reported to Morris-
Turnberry councillors at their April 7
meeting.
Laurie Cox of Veolia Water, which
manages the system, and Jeremy
Taylor, external auditor for R. J.
Burnside, presented a 2008
summary and Ministry of
Environment (MOE) inspection
report for the system. The system
received an MOE compliance rating
of 98.4 out of 100, Cox said.
He told council there is an
ongoing problem with finding the
delicate balance for the addition of
potassium permanganate to allow
the filter system, which treats the
high iron content in the water, to
work properly. If a little too much of
the salt is added, it gives the water a
pink tint, he said.
“It’s nothing to get concerned
about,” Cox said. “It’s not a health
concern.”
But Cox did have a concern last
summer when he found the system
had malfunctioned and added too
much potassium permanganate to
the water. “We didn’t know if we
had created a problem for people
who were using the water,” he told
council. He immediately contacted
the Ministry of Environment (MOE)
and the Huron County Health Unit
but couldn’t get an immediate
answer as to the effect of the
overuse.
“What was doubly concerning was
that nobody knew what the effect
was (of adding too much potassium
permanganate),” Cox said, though
eventually both groups got back with
the information that the situation
was harmless.
“I find it absolutely amazing that
we’re adding something to water but
the MOE has no recommendations,”
said councillor Mark Beaven.
Councillors wondered if there was
some alternative to using the
chemical but Taylor said the whole
treatment system would have to be
changed. “It’s required for the filter
to be efficient. It’s not an unknown
(treatment) system,” he assured
council.
One other issue, since resolved,
was that the MOE required more
frequent water tests than were being
conducted. Cox explained that the
cut-off point for the high-frequency
testing is 100 connections. While the
whole system has more than 100
connections, the MOE has treated it
as two different systems for some
purposes (with the old system on the
west side of Country Rd. 4 treated as
a separate system) but counted it as
one system for testing purposes.
There was also an issue with
testing for turbidity and one test
being missed, Cox says.
This has been solved by moving
the monthly test to the early part of
the month so that if it is missed, for
some reason, the error can be found
and a test conducted before the
month’s end.
Good news came from lead testing
required by the province. There was
no appreciable lead found in the
system’s water, Cox said, (there
wasn’t in 94-95 per cent of the
provincial water systems) so the
province has backed off on its earlier
requirement to have the expensive
tests conducted annually and now
the water must only be tested every
three years.
Taylor said there was one other
issue that caused concern when there
was increased flow of water in the
system, first noted in December. The
problem continued despite repeated
searches to see why the water was
being lost. Eventually it was
discovered that a tap had been left
open behind the arena but because of
snow they hadn’t been able to find it.
Councillors also agreed to start
negotiating with Veolia on a new
contract to manage the system. The
current contract runs out at the end
of the year.
What have we here?
Landyn Hallahan discovers his first Easter egg during the hunt at the Blyth Memorial Hall
courtyard on Saturday morning. There was a good turnout of children of all ages on hand for
the fun and the chance to take home a prize. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Grey may have a new waste
disposal site in its backyard very
soon if Ontario Greenways has its
way.
Wayne Snyders, owner of Ontario
Greenways made a presentation to
Huron East council at its April 7
meeting regarding the proposed
transfer facility for processed
organic waste.
Snyders assured council that the
waste his company planned on
processing in Huron East is not
prone to leak and should not
cause the municipality any
problems.
The material, Snyders said, is
from a waste-water treatment plant,
and involves the natural fats and oils
with compounds added.
He says when the material is ready
to travel, it is only 40 per cent
moisture and he has no worry of run-
off with the proposed facility.
Because the waste would be
housed indoors, Snyders said that
with no contributing factors like rain
or snow, run-off shouldn’t be a
problem.
Snyders had planned to convert a
former turkey operation to the
processing facility.
The waste would come to Grey
from a Guelph cattle slaughtering
facility and be sent out to Elma and
west Perth County to be spread on
land.
Because the waste comes from
outside of Huron East and gets
shipped out of the municipality as
well, councillor Bill Siemon asked
about potential jobs for residents of
Huron County. Snyders said he
couldn’t be sure, but the former
foreman of the turkey operation, he
said, will be kept on to oversee the
waste processing operations.
Currently, the material goes to
Chatham, which Snyders says is a
waste on two fronts. Chatham is not
a convenient location for the
eventual spreading in west Perth
County and Elma, and right now, the
material is currently just being sent
to a landfill, where its nutrient value
is being wasted.
The Huron East location would
solve both of those problems,
Snyders said.
There will be one truck of material
sent to the facility every day until it
is full. Snyders said the estimate for
the proposed facility is that it has
eight months worth of storage. If the
facility becomes full, however, they
will stop and not look into
expansion.
Snyders assured council that an
environmental assessment is not
necessary for the land’s particular
proposed use, but that the waste has
proven, tested nutrient value.
CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 16, 2009
Volume 25 No. 15SPORTS- Pg. 8Minor Hockey clubshost awards nights DONATIONS - Pg. 14 Brussels Optimists giveback to communityNEWS- Pg. 6Brussels Legion Pipe Bandreceives Trillium fundingPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Council considers proposal for organic waste site
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Water system
working well
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen