The Rural Voice, 2003-12, Page 58`m.
News in Agriculture
ABCA water level warning finally dropped
For the first time since July 2002,
all low water advisories for areas
within the Ausable, Parkhill and
Bayfield watersheds have been
removed, the Ausable Bayfield
Conservation Authority announced
November 14.
Starting in mid-September,
precipitation returned to near or
slightly above normal amounts.
Stream flow values are now above
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54 THE RURAL VOICE
normal for this time of year.
"We have already received over
80 per cent of the precipitation we
normally receive in the three-month
period from September to the end of
November," said Alec Scott, ABCA
Water and Planning Manager. "In
2002 during the same period, we
only received 40 per cent to 50 per
cent of the normal precipitation.
Stream flows for October and the
early part of November for the
ABCA area in southern Huron and
Perth and northern Middlesex and
Lambton Counties are also above
long term average values. In 2002,
stream flows were only 10 per cent to
20 per cent of normal values during
October and November.
"While it appears that the danger
of low water conditions is past, we
need to remember that for almost a
year and a half, there were periods of
below -normal precipitation and
stream flows," commented Bill
Dowson, Water Response Team
Chairman. "This has undoubtedly
had an impact on groundwater
resources and we cannot be sure how
long it will take for groundwater
levels to recover."
In January 2003, the ABCA in co-
operation with the Ministry of the
Environment began to install and
collect information from a
groundwater monitoring network.
The network of 14 monitoring wells
should be complete by the end of
2003 and this new information will
provide a valuable tool in
determining the impact of periods of
drought on our water resources.
Althdugh there are no Low Water
Advisories in effect in the ABCA
watershed area now, the Authority
says all water users should not forget
conservation measures that they may
have put in place during the past
year. Only by treating water as the
valuable resource that it is can we
hope to avoid water shortages in
future years, officials say.
For further information on what
you can do to reduce water use,
contact the ABCA at 235-2610 for a
fact sheet with water conservation
tips or visit
www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/waterp77
4.html or www.ene.gov.on.ca or
www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/e
nvironment/water/shortages.htm 0
Lloyd Graham wins
BCFA volunteer
award
Lloyd Graham of Lucknow was
awarded the "volunteer of the year"
award at the Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture's annual
meeting in Kincardine, October 24.
In presenting her annual award,
Gertie Blake, OFA field repres-
entative for Grey -Bruce said
Graham had been a director of the
Bruce Federation for 13 years and
was a founding member of the Clean
Water Festival as the Federation's
representative. He also was the
Federation's representative on the
rails -to -trail committee and a
member of the committee reviewing
the county's tree bylaw and a
member of the Bruce County
Stewardship committee. He had also
helped design landowner permission
forms for use of farmland by anglers
and hunters.0
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Dismantling of Barns & Wooden Structures
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Danny Farrow
519-323-0175 565 Perth St. N., Mount Forest 1-888-643-8410