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The Huron Expositor • August 22, 2007 Page 11
News
Recent rains haven't recharged water systems
Jordan Baker
Significant rainfall is going to be
needed to raise watershed levels back
to a normal state.
At the start of each month, the
Ausable Bayfield Conservation
Authority (ABCA) and the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority
(MCVA), the two conservation
authorities that border -Huron East,
survey the water levels across their
respective jurisdictions.
Despite some recent rain, the water
levels, across both watersheds,
haven't improved much, if they have
been effected at all.
Davin Heinbuck, lands and water
technologist at the ABCA, says it is
going to take a couple days of "soak-
ing" rain to see some response in
stream flows.
"A lot of [precipitation] has been
absorbed. There hasn't been a lot of
ground level recharge," he explains.
The Level 1 water advisory of July
was upgraded to a Level 2 low water
advisory for all of the ABCA water-
shed on Aug. 1.
Heinbuck says if the weather
remains dry through the rest of the
month, that advisory could be
trumped up to Level 3 at the start of
September after the next survey;
however, he adds that is "not overly
likely" and the advisory could go back
to a Level 1 with some rains.
The MVCA is not under a low
water advisory level right now.
Kosta Paliouras, water resources
specialist at the MVCA, explains the
situation is different than the ABCA
because they have very few surface -
water takers. Most of the area takes
from wells and ground water.
The MVCA is in the process of
determining whether to go to a Level
1 advisory or not. Paliouras says at
the end of this process, all they can
do is recommend the low water advi-
sory to the Water Action Team.
Paliouras says water levels suggest
Huron and Bruce
receive $2.5 million for
affordable housing
Ben Forrest
As of Friday, at least 228 individu-
als sat on Huron County's waiting
list for affordable housing — a
number that may be deceptively
low.
That figure refers to the number
of applications received by the
county, and applications can be
filed by individuals or families.
It is a problem gaining notoriety
in Huron, and one local politician
hopes it will improve thanks to a
$2.5 million funding announce-
ment, made Aug. 17 in Goderich.
Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell
made the announcement Friday,
revealing roughly $1.2 million in
Ontario government funding has
been allocated for projects in
Goderich, and that $348,000 has
been allocated for a project in
Clinton.
The remaining money will be
spent in Kincardine and Port
Elgin.
Mitchell said an issue heard
repeatedly when her party took
office in 2003 was the need for
assistance to those who exist on a
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going to a Level 1 advisory but things
can change by the end of the month.
The MVCA did not call a water
advisory level last month because of
expected rain in the forecast for
August, which Paliouras says hasn't
resulted in the impact expected.
"It's rain we need all over the
watershed, not just in some parts."
He says though this year is dry -
worse than last year - it isn't as bad
as 1998-99, the years that spawned
the level advisories.
He explains, "Summers aren't
drier, we see more evaporation in the
summer."
The ABCA uses the Varna stream
gauge on the Bayfield River as their
indicator data station, but they rely
on an entire precipitation network,
much of which is provided by the
public through the ABCA's Volunteer
Rain Gauge Network, to support
decisions and paint a more complete
picture of the conditions experienced
across the watershed, says Heinbuck
in an ABCA media release.
Heinbuck stresses that everybody
within the ABCA is asked to cut back
20 per cent on water usage while
under these low water advisories.
He recommends reducing the
amount of water used on lawns and
gardens and changing the schedule
to when you use water, watering in
the evening.
He says it is important for people
to make the effort, even if it isn't
measurable.
Heinbuck notes the watershed lev-
els may reflect better or worse levels
than what the advisory actually says,
because levels are only reviewed once
a month. An update is expected at
the start of September by both
authorites.
Heinbuck also points out that,
though the area doesn't experience
an advisory status each year, it isn't
unheard of to have a level of advisory
for some time in the summer months.
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