Loading...
Times-Advocate, 1979-07-04, Page 17 (2)• Tasting water is daily job Allan 'Scott starts work each day with a drink of cold water. It's not because he's ----4.hirst jr--it's-just-part- of -his' job. Scott is the assistant superintendent at the' Lake Huron Water Supply System on the corner of highways 21 and 83 north of Grand Bend. From this complex -water is supplied to all the people who live in Grand' Bend, and those in London, with many in between. Scott isn't taking any chances on 'people complaining about bad tasting water. By tasting it, he can determine whether or not the right number of chemicals are being used in the right amount. it takes a staff of 19 at• the waterworks to get that water out of Lake Huron and into the huge pipeline and on its way to Arva and then Lon- don. Bill Sturdevant, who has been with the water- works since it opened 12 years ago, is superintendent. Last month a new booster station was opened in West Williams near Lteury.-This •station w'i11 help the- water along its way. and ' meet future demands. Grand Bend waterworks is _still capable of pumping the water all the —way-to-London. — Water- from this pumping station is also supplied to Parkhill, Ailsa Craig, Itderton, Denfield, Nairn, and the townships of McGillivray; London, Stephen and Bosanquet in part. Dashwood is soon to be added to the route.. 'As well as the full time staff to keep the water flowing, a couple of students are hired for the summer to keep the grounds tidy or take groups- through the building on tours. Employees from the waterworks also look after water and sewage problems in Thedford, Arkona, Zurich, Hensall and other such communities. They are under- the Ministry of Environment. Allen Scott starts out his day with a taste of water and he takes a close look at it, too. Two taps flow con- tinuously in his laboratory, one with water straight from the lake, the other with treated water. r IT'S ONLY H2O Allan Scott, assistant supervisor at the water treatment plant has his daily cup of water. Allan checks on the taste of the water every morning IN CONTROL Joe Maymon of Bayfieji trots of one of the Waterworks many filters 1 ) • 1 1 1 •-.et& fi C., Scott looks at the water in clear glass beakers to check its turbidity or clarity. Then 11e' uses a WW1 -0T other gadgets if he feels the lbok of the water warrents it. He has a P H meter and a ther- mometer. The • water averages 10 degrees celcius, but in summer it goes up to 20 degrees, and in winter it will go as low as 3 degrees. The water comes from a pipe six feet in diameter and is p' rtially buried on the bottom' of the lake about 30 feet under the surface of the water. The end of the pipe is 112 miles out in the lake. Divers have reported that there is no suction at the end of the concrete pipe, and it is covered by a grill. However, fish do sometimes get into the Works. Soon after it is brought in, the water is treated with chlorine, which un- fortunately kills any fish that do get in. The building closest to the lake is called the low lift station. It pumps the water up out of the lake and into the treatment station. A long stairwell takes an employee far underground. The lengthly climb is made about three times a week, Scott says. All the pipes in the waterworks are color coded. A blue pipe indicates that the water has been treated and is "good". Other colors are used for the untreated water and the chemicals. After the low lift station pumps the water up, it flows by gravity to the main treatment building. • The pipe runs un- derground. and a long cold tunnel allows workers to keep an eye on the progress between the two buildings. Chemicals are added to the water at this stage. Usually the only chemical needed is alum. The still dirty water is brought to the "flocculation" •area next. -This looks like average of 26 million gallons huge swimming pools with of water a day. giant mix masters stirring The, only time that -them up. --- . ------ ----p unitsa p— �ort1Tein is diking From flocculation the a power failure. But even water goes on through large this is partially looked after filters, until the operators by diesel generators. The see that it's coming clean. generators provide -power And then there's the for emergency lighting and pumps. The whole or the whatever else is needed in waterworks operates on a the plant. They can also preventative maintenance supply enough energy to program, and the pumps are provide water for Grand a prime example. If they Bend. Fortunately London know that twc• pumps will be, has sufficient resevoirs to needed, ther three are ready see them through a normal to go, if they know that they black -out. will need three pumps,'than But in a case where the four are prepared. pumps stop pumping other With .these huge pumps precautions must he made. they are able to .move an In the event that water was • not pumping away from Grand Bend, gravity would force it to roll back. Two r.--- — surge Tanks„ were built to take any water that comes gushing towards them. The_surge tanks are built with some water in them, and air -space on top. if water rushes into them the air acts as a cushion. It's obvious that Allan Scott's dey,otion to his job goeg much further than just tasting the product. Right now, he is working on buildinga scale model of the waterworks plant. That's dedication to your job, when you want to take it home with you. dv.ocate n Page 1 A • CLEANING OP Leotherland cleaning one of the four main pumps. Chief of maintenance Don Murray works with Jim Dodds and Alex July 4, 1979 Price Per Copy 25 Cents hurch told to install sewer hook-ups Grand Bend council refus- ed to support a motion by councillor Harold Green that the United Church be exempted from installing sewtr connections on their vacant lots. Green made the motion at Tuesday night's meeting after a request for special consideration came frool the church. The ehurch.do ncfeel that sewer hook-ups OfittOgletemoterammoorm Mary's linitsii1gs BY MARY ALDERSON I thought I'd better start this week's column with a few corrections of last week's column. last week i gave a few ideas of what our British honeymoon would be like. Now, I'll tell you the truth. First, we didn't get the Austin Mini we ordered. Since they're rather unreliable, most car Cental agencies have replaced them with other small cars. We had a Ford Fiesta, which ran beautifully and got about 50 miles to the gallon. But then, it wanted to --petrol cost around $3.00 a gallon over there. High prices were the only drawback ,on our otherwise wonderful trip. We had lunch in London one day, which consisted of two omelettes,an order of french fries, and two Cokes. When the bill came, Victor asked me how I had enjoyed my meal. 1 said that it was alright, and he said I'd better enjoy it because it had cost about $23.00 (9 pounds). Out in the country prices weren't quite that bad, and meats we had were very good. Another suggestion i made last week was thit we could be stuck on a back road in the mud. Not true. We took many back roads, but every single trail was- paved. The British dont know what gravel is. el; No.... I also mentfk ned last week that we would probably have an argument. That didn't- happoiit--_durj_ng our -trip either. in fact, thegnlylight we've had. has been about where to stack all the wedding gifts we hal qr time toopen since we arrived home. Only once were we spotted as honeymooners. Another couple were on their "wedding trip", and asked us if we were newlyweds. They were Scottish and lived near Glasgow, but were staying at a caravan (trailer) park at the seaside. We're looking forward to seeing them again when they immigrate to Canada next month. I'm not going to give you a travelogue, because it seems as if everybody and their brother has been to Britain recently or is going this year. Believe me, we heard enough travelogues before we left', to last for awhile. Anyway, we had a great HERE WE ARE! - Superintendent Bill Sturdevant points out time, and it sounds like our Grand Bend on )he mop and shows the route the pipeline weather in "' jolly old" was takes to London. much better than yours here. And as for my jokes about flying a , DC -10 --when we arrived in Engldtid we were told we'd have to call the airline to see what time our flight home was. You see. they hadn't scheduled anything yet, because we were to go home on a DC-10. The day before we left. we found out we were flying a 747.the same as what we had gone over on. We flew Wardair, and sat right beside one of the galleys. The stewards and. stewardesses were a great bunch and were having more fun than most of the passengers. One steward was new on the job, and apparently had to go through an initiation rite. His superior stuck a sign on his back, unknown to him. All 450 passengers saw him serving drinks with a sign on his back that read "Smile if you think I'm cute." in spite of, or perhaps because of the crew's merry- making, the service was great. They were enjoying the flight. and i think everyone on board did. too. So with a case of mild jet lag, I'm back on the job. My first duty was to attend Grand Bend's counc, m qq,�as usual. i've been & t 'their meetings for several months now, and my reaction to most of what they do ranges from mildly .amused to bored. Much of their - discprsgiorr js 'routine and most of the time they handle problems with sound rte.,..;.. 'A.f .judgement. Reeve Sharen will ask "What's your pleasure?”, and one of the members will speak up. Generally coun- cillors Crawford and Baird will agree with Sharen, and Deputy Reeve Uniac will join the majority. Councillor Green will often balk, but usually comes around. And in most cases they come up with a solution that is in the best interests of Grand Bend and the people who live there. But last night things were different. For the first time i had to literally bite my tongue to keep from speaking out. The majority of council is not showing their usual good judgement in this decision. Only councillor Harold Green was willing to make a reasonable compromise, and did not go Please turn to page 3A are necessary on the two lots which are used for out-of- door worship services dur- ing the summer. Adequate sewer connections are being installed for the church building and the manse. Green moved the exemp- tion. knowing that he would not get a seconder Reeve Sharen said that the hook- ups were necessary since the church may not be in that locajtion much longer. Councillor Bill Baird said he refused to make an ex- ception in the mandatory hook-up rule because then others would •seek special consideration. "Once you make one exception. you're going to be bugged to death there on down the line," he said. Councillor, Keit Crawford said that one exception would lead to more, and that council should stay with their original policy of re- quiring every lot to have a sewer connection. The two extra hook-ups wall cost the church 1700. William Adelman attend- ed the meeting to put in a request for council to recon- sider zoning by-laws on property he owns. Adelman says he wants to expand his motel complex, and changes in the village's. zoning will have to be made. Coun- cillors were generally in favour of his requests, and referred him to planning board. Art Read and Don Southcott came before coun- cil to discuss the problem of street lights in Southcott Pines. The lighting problem will be taken to Stan Lovie and the Public Utilities Commission before council makes any decision on the number of lights and type that will be installed in Southcott Pines Clerk Louise Clipperton read a letter to council from the solicitor'of Peter J. ivy, a resident of Oakwood. owner of Oakwood GQif, and an owner of property in Beach O' Pines. Ivy's solicitor said that he un- derstdod rumours were cir- culation to the effect that Ivy was in favor of the annexation of Bosanquet and Stephen townships as proposed by Grand Bend Council. Ivy's solicitor said he BUSINESS AND PLEASURE Mark Stewirr (0 cV.'r r of .urf soil rental. .r• G'or'd Be-ci chr'd, 6- • r., • k. on technique :. photo Surf -sailing excites summer swimmers A couple of years ago. Mark and Debbie Stewart did something that few peo- ple ever do - they paid close attention to a televi- sipn cpnwnercial The com- ar forced i .�>Petai-didn'tenticethemto buy the rtoduct which was y Labatt's Blue. but it did get them started in a whole new business The 1' V ad featured surf - sailing - the technique of riding tie waves on a_surf board powered by -a sail Un- til that time. few people had ever heard of surf -sailing. but Labatt'a brought it into everybody's living room Mark and Debbie figured it looked like a lot of fun. and they started asking questions. A year later they opened their own Surf- sail rentals in the old casino on the beach at Grand Bend The Stewart's home is near Port Franks. and they have been long time lovers of the lake They soon became expert surf -sailers. The sail boards they rent out are made in Toronto They are expanding their fleet' to 10 this summer. The rental .price is 17 an hour, and 13 extra for a lesson. They also arrange seasonal rentals at 1150. or they'll sell you a surf -sailer for 1850 The boards are made of fibreglas with a foam core. and they're unsinkable. The surfer steers by shifting his weight and turning the sail. The entire surf -sailer ort roaa, • no injuries A -1976 Camaro driven by Jeanette DeVet was forced off the highway early Sun- day morning by an oncoming car. Ms. DeVet was travell- ing southbound on highway. 21 near Grand Bend when the accident occurred. Damages to her car were es- timated at 12.500. The other driver was apprehended and charges are pending. There were no injuries. The Pinery Park detach- ment of the Ontario Provin- cial Police laid 50 charges under the liquor licence act and 92 charges under the provincial patks act. Six people were charged under the narcotic control act, and eight under the highway traffic act. Grand Bend OPP reported a quiet holiday weekend. Three minor accidents oc- qured and there were no in- juries. There were 33 charges laid under the liquor licence act. and two minor thefts of liquor reported. No narcotic charges were laid. weighs 54 pounds 1f it does tip over. and according to Mark. that's part of the fun. then the sail acts as an anchor and holds the board in place until you can get back on Mark says it doesn't re- quire muscle to use a surf - sailer. just weight He says that Debbie who isn't as strong as he is. has sur- passed him in the handling of a surf -sailer Mark says he .can teach anyone who weighs more than 80 pounds how to surf -sail The sport started in California and soon spread around the wofld..Mark says that now Germany is the most popular spot for surf - sailers The many small but windy lakes draw surf - sailers to the area Books showing different techni- ques are available to avid fans Mark compares surf - sailing to hot-dog skiing He finds the sport challenging. and says that many different maneuvers can be per- formed A favorite is the "head - dip" where the surfer arches his tack until his head is in the water Another is called "riding the rail" The board sits up on its -side. and .the surfer balances it there. "People see us out there. and get enthused," Mark says. And that's good for business. he adds. wanted to make it clear that Ivy was "not in favor of such annexation and will oppose such a move". The question 'of the ownership of Centre Street between thelBrewer's Retail and Thompson -Warner came before council. The area is a right-of-way for cottages and is presently be- ing kept by Harold Klopp. Council decided to instruct their solicitor to inform Klopp that they are going to proceed with expropriation of the area. In other business deputy reeve Judy Uniac informed council that employees of the Ausable Bayfield conser- vatior. authority would be coming next week to move trees into the village's new parkette area. A sign permit was granted for The Orchard at 11 Main Street. A 110 fee will be charged for the wall sign. Councillor Green re- quested that a sign be erected to stop children from playing in the "Grand Bend" hedge. "I get hoarse getting kids out of Grand". Bend hedge." Green said. "Kids ride their bicycles right through it. and jump in it. it's a shame. it's a nice hedge." he adead. Council agreed that som."thing should be done to preserve the hedge. Classic thriller " now in rehearsal Rehears9l; for the Huron Country Playhouse's second production of the season, "Angel Street". are now under way at the Playhouse. "Angel Street". the suspense filled play by< Patrick Hamilton' enjoyed popular success both in London and New York and won an Oscar for Ingrid Bergman for her per- _ forjpance as the terror filled h-ffe of a crazed husband in the movie version of the play called "Gaslight". The play set in the 1880 livingroom of the Man- ningham household. unfolds to reveal a diabolical plot: the suave master of the household. has devised a series of mental ploys to drive his wife slowly insane Superficially this villain appears to be.a gentle. loving and concerned husband By insidious means he spreads tiff st'('ds of doubt, fear and? terror as he attempts to dupe' his trusting wife into believing that she. like her mother before her. is mad Mrs Manningham. played by the renowned actress Irena Mayeska. is indeed in a crazed state when a police • • inspector arrives at their house with some startling revelations about her husband John Codner takes the role of inspector Rough. "Angel Street" is a classic. psychological thriller that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats until the final spine tingling scene. Irena Mayeska stars as Mrs Manningham. taking the "Gaslight" role which won Ingrid Bergman an Oscar in the mpvie version of the play One of Canada's foremost leading ladies. Ms. Mayeska has starred in all of the major theatres in this country She played the title role in "Major Barbara" at the Shaw Festival, won best actress for her per- formance as Laura in "The Glass \ienagerie" and was featured in -the Walt Disney movie. "The incredible ,tourney " Her first ap- pearance at the Playhouse will he a memorable one. F'aul Craig. who plays Mr ,Manningham will be remembered as Philip in "The White Oaks of Jalma" and most recently in the TV series. "The Collaborators." • SURP-SAIUNG - Larry Ebbs demonstrates surf sailing technique in the lake of Grand Bend T A photo