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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2017-02-08, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, February 8, 2017 Huron East looks for funds for controversial sewer system Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor The council of Huron East are exhausted financially, especially in relations to any dreadful six -figure numerals; they made the journey to the annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference with the hopes of receiving a poten- tial grant that would lead to the changing from septic tanks to sewer systems. In a sense, they travelled to Toronto with two separate wishes to ask of the province, the other - money to go towards the upgrade of the Seaforth Sewage Treatment Plant. Originally being brought up in council cham- bers in 2010, this topic has been quite controversial. Back then, 111 Egmond- ville residents voted nay whereas 80 were in favour to be incorporated in Seaforth's sewer system. If this had happened -in today's day and age, Brad Knight, CAO of Huron East said, "I'm not sure that coun- cil would do that," meaning it would be decided by the municipality. At that instance some "We have to do something, we have an obligation to the ratepayers and the environment," — stated the Mayor of Huron East, Bernie MacLellan seven years ago, some rate- payers felt this alteration could come with a hefty price tag to switch sys- tems; Tuckersmith Coun. Larry McGrath, who is also a member of the water and sewer committee, said in those times they were look- ing at somewhere in the range of $18,000-$20,000, and that was their secondary option. This procedure is known as the Clearford Water Sys- tem, a small bore sewer made of plastic pipes that are installed by using an open trench method, according to Clearford One System's website. The more expensive option is a gravity sewer, which entails digging up the street and putting sewer lines in, McGrath explained over the phone Feb. 2. occasions, Egmondville water was tested by the Min- istry of the Environment, McGrath said each time there was contamination found, but they deemed it to be "acceptable levels" On the other hand, when Seaforth was tested, McGrath revealed that those findings were deemed to contain dangerous levels of Ile noted that he does not E. coli. know exactly how much this "There is E. coli. in all would cost now, however water, whether it comes from back then, a resident could farming or anywhere else," be billed $20,000-$25,000. he commented. "Let's face McGrath said that if conn- it, rivers and streams are cil attained agrant, residents nowhere to hang out and may not necessarily have to have a boat party." pay for the installation as a Huron East Mayor, Bernie whole, but a lump sum MacLellan considers this a would be mandatory. "There compulsory asset to the will be no options, he said. community's ecosystem. "They have to expand the "I think it's important to Seaforth plant regardless, if get it figured out," he told the they do (not receive) a grant, Expositor Feb. 2, also adding they have to upgrade in Sea- the complete development is forth," stated McGrath. "Part projected to be approxi - of our argument is if we can mately $14 million. "Septic get sewers or even a Clear- tanks are fine in a rural area, ford System in Egmondville. but in an urbanized popula- An Egmondville native tion, that's just not the himself, McGrath under- proper procedure:' stands the reasons for those Following their eco - who are against it and the friendly notions, the delega- persons who are in favour of tion of MacLellan and six the procedure. other members of council In three separate trekked to the ROMA About half of Huron East's council went to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association -(ROMA) conference in Toronto Jan. 30 with the hope of receiving funds for a sewer system project in Egmondville. conference and made an appeal to Liberal member of Provincial Parliament Peter Milczyn Jan. 30, who himself is the assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure. It was similar to a delega- tion at your standard munic- ipal council meetings, said MacLellan, they had 15 min- utes to state their case. After their presentation concluded, MacLellan admitted to not receiving much feedback, but he believes this is because the council of Huron East pre- sented such a detailed proposal. Though Milczyn didn't say much afterwards, the mayor did state that he was told there were grants avail- able. "Unfortunately, he couldn't give us any answers for a few weeks, but he certainly recognized the fact that we are in a dire situation with what the costing will be." Even if the funding is not granted, MacLellan said they would not back down, "we have to do something, we have an obligation to the ratepayers and the environment" Government giving $500 million towards rural areas for Internet connection, Huron County would like to be one of them Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor Living in a rural munici- pality has its advantages, yet there are definitely obstacles while existing in the sticks; finding a strong Internet connection appears to be at the top of the list. The County of Huron, partnered with Hurontel, Hay and Tuckersmith Com- munications Co -Operative Ltd. (TCC) are conscious of this frustrating dilemma. All these organizations have recently joined forces in the optimisms of receiving a share of $500 million from the Government of Canada --slated to invest in a new program titled Connect to Innovate. This project is anticipated to distribute high-speed Internet to rural and isolated populations throughout the country. This funding is only appli- cable for areas served who are not meeting the require- ments of five megabytes per second. "I think the government is now realizing that you require a high-speed Inter- net connection to he really successful in life," stated Dani Rathwell, communica- tions manager at TCC during a phone conversation Feb. 3. "Homework for kids requires What if one company could solve all your business needs? iit access to the Internet, every- thing is online these days" TCC provides service to nearby towns such as Sea - forth and Clinton, Rathwell says the places on the out- skirts of Brussels and in between Bayfield and Goderich are having difficul- ties with service. There have been towers installed to provide these specific 800-900 custom- ers with wireless signals; unfortunately Rathwell said numerous clients are not receiving the appro- priate Internet capabili- ties or accessibility. This number of underserved users is a lot more when LEAD GENERATION INCREASED SALES ivies rr grouped with Hay and Hurontel, she said. Rathwell assumes there is some places so remote that they don't have any coverage at all. "We are aware of the areas that are underserved in the territory," stated Rathwell. "There is no question that rural areas throughout the county are underserved, it's always been known." "We as cooperatives are working to make that better, unfortunately we don't have the funds available to get the last mile of fibre optic tech- nology to the houses in rural areas." Since this area is primar- ily occupied by a vast array of farmland, there is no line to give people a strong connection, explained Rathwell. To be part of the funding, TCC and the County are ask- ing residents to fill out an online survey. As well, they are asked to check their cur- rent Internet speed. Once this information is collected they will be able to back up their claims, which will play a major role in the decision of what areas will receive funds. All applications must be filled out by Feb. 22. The online survey can be obtained at http://internet- survey.cni.on.ca/survey. php, or by visiting the huron- county.ca "Participation in this sur- vey is voluntary, but the information is vital to the success of future funding applications," said Huron County Warden Jim Ginn. "If you support the expansion of high-speed Internet in Huron County, now is the time to participate." TCC will be implementing fibre in the ground; so all the rural customers that have identified their challenges will receive fibre lighting, this task must be finished by 2021. se AP JEN p POSTMEDIA We can connect all the pieces in more ways than ever before. For more information, visit postmedia.com/advertise