The Rural Voice, 2001-06, Page 65PERTH VI4k
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
Jim Van Herk. President
519-595-4863
The Rural Voce is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
Looking at rural water problems
The following is the second part of
a submission that was made to the
Walkerton Inquiry by Russ Danbrook
on March 22, 2001 in Waterloo.
Last month I dealt with intensive
livestock operations. This month I'd
like to examine problems with rural
wells.
Communal Wells
I have a small residential
development in Atwood. As part of
the approval process we were
required to provide a communal well
and distribution system. This well
was drilled in 1992, proven as to
capacity by a pump test, and had a
hydrogeological study done to
establish the quality of the water.
The testing showed the parameters to
be quite acceptable for th'e
subdivision. We started building
houses last year and have completed
three to date. More lots are sold, with
building scheduled for this year. We
hired an independent company to do
the water testing, which they
have been doing to date. This
company tests water quality both at
the well and at the distribution
system once a week. This costs
approximately $832 per year. My
problem comes when we complete
three more houses. At this time we
will be deemed to be a communal
well. The MOE's change in testing
protocols affecting all communal
wells took effect last summer,
requiring substantially more testing.
This same testing company has
suggested that the cost for testing
once we have six or more houses will
be approximately $12,000 per year.
although there is no firm contract
offer yet.
The next meeting of the
PERTH COUNTY
PORK PRODUCERS
will be held
June 6, 2001 at 7:30 p.m.
at the Rostock Hall
1 cannot dispute the safety factor
in the increased testing protocols as
they were intended. We all want safe
water. The practical application
however is different suggesting that
the new rules, however well-
intentioned. are counterproductive.
People are reluctant to pay for the
increased testing which is running at
approximately $350 per household in
other small communal wells in North
Perth. This cost has led some of the
users of these communal' wells to
suggest that they would be better off
to drill their own private wells.
These additional individual wells
would require no testing for quality.
More importantly. every new well is
also another potential contamination
source of our ground water supplies
because the drilling of the well
necessitates further fractures in the
bedrock down to the water source.
This is not a problem that is unique to
North Perth: it is a province -wide
concern. and I can provide more
examples if requested.
I would urge the MOE to
reconsider the new regulations to
balance the need for water testing
with the practical application of the
laws as they pertain to long-term
sustainability of our ground water
supplies.
Decommissioned Wells
Most rural properties are serviced
by individual wells. As these
properties change in terms of their
water needs, more and more new
wells are being drilled to replace or
augment the existing water supply.
In too many cases the old well has
not been decommissioned properly
even though good technology exists
to do so. Many people are not aware
of the damage that an improperly
decommissioned well can do to the
environment, acting as a drain to the
ground water source for potential
contaminants which would normally
be filtered as they seep through layers
down to the water source. We need to
look at ways or programs that will
locate and properly decommission
these sources of potential
contamination. The Environmental
Farm Plan has brought the problem of
improperly decommissioned wells to
.the fore for many rural residents. I
believe that there should be
government incentives to ensure that
wells can be properly
decommissioned: and that programs
should remain in place to make more
people aware of this potentially
hazardous situation.0
PERTH COUNTY PORK
PRODUCERS' PORK PRODUCTS
• Smoked Pork Chops • Fresh Pork Chops
• Stuffed Loin Chops • Smoked Sausage
• Smoked Cheddar Sausage
• Bacon Burgers • Teriyaki Pork Steaks
• Vittorio's BBQ Sauce
AVAILABLE FROM:
Steve Hulshof (Kinkora) 348-8167
Martin van Bakel (Dublin) 345-2666
Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000
Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836
JUNE 2001 61