Lakeshore Advance, 2011-02-02, Page 11Council reviews E. coli counts
Vanessa Brown
Clinton News -Record
A local residents group
is asking Bluewater Coun-
cil for help to improve
consistently poor water
quality along area
beaches and ravines.
Jan Purvis, a member of
the Bluewater Shoreline
Residents Association
(BSRA), met with Bluewa-
ter council at its last ses-
sion, to request a $15,000
grant, which would ena-
ble the BSRA to continue
testing lake and ravine
water along the shoreline.
Since the project began in
2006, the level of E. coli
has consistently exceeded
acceptable amounts set
out by the Ministry of
Health.
"The situation really
hasn't improved in any
measurable way," Purvis
said.
The reason for that is
partly due to a lack of tan-
gible research, which the
BSRA has been working
to change with annual
testing and documented
analysis. Purvis hopes
that the BSRA's five years
worth of data will per-
suade Ontario's Environ-
ment Ministry to fund
pilot projects and insti-
tute best management
practices. BSRA members
were slated to meet with
Environment Minister
John Wilkinson last
Tuesday.
"We're going to be talk-
ing about the current
water quality level in the
lake, and we'll be empha-
sizing the need to carry
out these pilot projects in
some of the watersheds
that feed out into the
lake," Purvis said. "We'll
try to convince them that
this has merit."
For this particular
project, the Ausable Bay-
field Conservation
Authority (ABCA) draws
samples from the point at
which four ravines inter-
sect with Lake Huron
once a week during the
summer months. The
ABCA also tests the lake
water 50 metres away
from where each ravine
spills into the lake. Agri-
cultural runoff and ero-
sion, which carry con-
taminants, flow through
each ravine and drain into
the lake, resulting in ele-
vated levels of E. coli, a
bacteria most often found
in the intestines. E. coli
can cause mild to severe
flu-like sytnptoms such as
vomiting and diarrhea.
The ABCA's 2009 Blue -
water Ravine and Lake
Water Quality Monitoring
report proves that the
situation is worst at the
Unman, Jim Sitwell, from Festival Hydro, spoke with grade 4/5 students at Zurich
Public School about electrical safety.
Ridgeway site, west of Dash-
wood. In the summer of 2009, E.
coli levels in the ravine were
almost 13 times over the accept-
able limit. Samples taken from
the lake water exceeded normal
amounts but were much lower.
Purvis said the group's chief
goal is to meet the water quality
standards of Blue Flag, an inter-
nationally recognized safe -water
certification.
"We're a long, long way away
from meeting Blue Flag stand-
ards in terms of water quality, at
least in the Municipality of
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 11
Bluewater," said Coun. John
Gillespie (Hay West). "It's a very
high-profile issue for people who
live along the Lakeshore."
Purvis also pointed out that
consistently poor water quality
could have adverse effects on
Bluewater's economy. High lev-
els of E. coli along Lake Huron's
numerous beaches could deter
tourists from visiting the area.
The municipality's naturally
beautiful Lakeshore also attracts
cottagers who shop at local gro-
cery stores. According to Purvis,
sub par water quality has a
domino effect that deserves
councIl's, and the province's,
attention.
"There's an economic factor
that maybe sometimes doesn't
get considered," she said. "Peo-
ple like the lake because it's not
contaminated, we hope, and so
they decide to improve their
properties ...which translates
into increased assessment. 'that
also means they employ local
trades people:'
Council deferred the group's
grant request until budget meet-
ings continence in March.
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