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Clinton News-Record, 1985-11-06, Page 29i INCORPORATING -Ti SECOND SECTION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6,1985 WATER POLLUTION Huron can't compete with Torontobeaches Seepage of waste is threat to water With the onset of autumn, there is another source of water pollution on the farm. Sweet corn cannery waste is 'used by a number of livestock producers as an economical source of feed. Seepage from corn waste though poses a serious threat to water quality and hence users of the water, including aquatic life. Sweet corn cannery waste seepage is a highly toxic substance. If seepage gains access to a watercourse it can be extremely damaging to aquatic life, killing fish and degrading stream quality. It can also cause severe damage to field tiles and drams, causing tile failure. Cannery wastes are 80 per cent moisture and must be stored and By Alan Rivett "Canadians have long taken their rich and pristine inheritance of lakes and rivers for granted. Now, the spread of pollution, drought and political conflicts threaten the very future of freshwater use. One of the nation's great treasures is in serious danger." MacLean's Magazine One hasto look no farther than Toronto to discover the continued deterioration of our waterways. Trash of every description litters the bottom of the "dead" Don River creating a mirky quagmire which winds its way through the heart of the city. Toronto beaches attract thousands of people during the summer months. The water beckons, but signs at the majority of beaches prohibit swimming due to the toxic chemicals and other pollutants which invisibly inhabit Lake Ontario, the most polluted of the Great Lakes. 1,000 Chemicals Nearly 1,000 chemicals exist in the Great Lakes System from a number of sources, reports a , recent article in' McLean's Magazine entitled. The Deteriorating Great Lakes. In fact, in Lake Ontario, the authorities have banned the sale of some fish because of the chemical pollution. The ater in the lakes may become too polluted to drink and may require advanced purification methods to ensure safety in the future. Extensive water testing is done during the summer months Other disturbing facts revealed in the article include: -Hamilton Harbour on Lake Ontario includes so many toxic pollutants that 40 per cent of some fish species have cancerous tumors. -In the Niagara River, a sewage treatment plant in Niagara Falls, N.Y. continues to leakindustrial waste into the river at the rate of 60 -million gallons per day. The) l ramifications of the water situation on a global scale is twofold; there's not enough of it and what there is, for the most part, is undrinkable. In many third world countries, 25 million deaths a year are caused through diseases transmitted by water. Almost three-fifths of these deaths involve children. To combat the spiralling deaths due to unsafe water supplies in underdeveloped - countries, the United Nations General Assembly declared the •1980s as the ' International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. The goal.of the UN is to provide clean water and sanitation in these countries by the the year 1990. However, the, cost of bringing modern water and sewer technology' to the third world is astronomical. A projected $30 billion a year would have to he spent to modernize .water supplies. Currently over half the people in the third world have no access to safe water and more than two- thirds of this population have no sanitation facilities. Local concerns . While the beaches of Lake Huron in this area thankfully are not rivalling the water pollution in the Toronto area, local government agencies are taking the issue of preserving water quality seriously. Through the summer months, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has been doing extensive water testing in Lake Huron in the Grand Bend area. According to Doug Huber, regional hydrologist and assistant surface water evaluater with the MOE, they have been conducting water studies and analysis this year between May and August. While all the evidence isn't in yet, Mr. Huber says a report of this years research will be released in January or February of 1986. The increased emphasis on water analysis in this area was initially set off by the Lake Huron beach closings in 1983 which affected an extensive area along the southern shores. Since that time the MOE has been keeping a close watch on the water quality of the beaches. While assessing water quality is difficult because of ever-changing lake conditions, there were a few factors which contributed to the pollution outbreak of 1983. Mr. Huber says the large amount of rain in the early urnmer followed by a long dry spell was the ajor cause of the deteriorated water quality. "The rains flushed the bacteria into the system while the dry summer caused the bacteria to survive for a longer period of time," he said. Also, high winds were responsible for stirring the dormant bacteria from the bottom of the lake near the shores which resulted in high bacteria counts. Because of the hot weather, more people were using the water causing more bacteria to thrive in the lake environment. Bacteria study In addition to the water monitoring each summer, the MOE has been conducting research into the types of bacteria present in the lake. What phis research has revealed is agriculture wastes which flow from the Ausable and the Bayfield Rivers into the In this area, water is an abundant commodity with Lake Huron and many lake -front cities in Canada and the U.S. However, govern - a number of rivers and strms proyiding a limitless source of ment agencies in the area concerned with water have initiated water for drinking and recreation. For the most part, our lakes and ongoing programs to closely monitor water quality. rivers have remained untouched by the pollution which pervades lake, along with urban wastes, is becoming a major contributer to the pollution in this area. Mr. Huber says the tests will determine the types of bacteria present in the lake. The analysis will centre around the bacteria's resistance to antibiotics. Some bacteria tend to be more resistant to antibiotics primarily used by veterinarians which would prove the source of some of the bacteria is agriculturally based. The MOE is convincedit's having an impact; how much of an impact is the focus of this summer's research which will be contained in the upcoming report, says Mr. Huber. The agricultural pollution which originates in streams, however, tends t� die off in the lake environment because nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates• are more plentiful in the river environment than in the lakes, he says. The cooler lake water tends also to inhibit the growth of the bacteria. In fact, studies ' have revealed the commom forms of bacteria (E coli and coliforms) tend ;to live five times longer in the river environment. Much of thistype of pollution is caused by improper manure and feedlot management as well as improper drainage in field which causes run-off and erosion. Much of the MOE's work is not only the testing and research concerning water quality, but also to try to eliminate the sources of water pollution, says Mr. Huber. This summer, for example, the mobile lab discovered two storm sewers from two Grand Band houses which were leaking into the lake. Through work with the municipality and the Ministry of Health; the problem was eventually corrected. However, agriculture waste problems are more difficult to tackle because the MOE has a limited jurisdiction in that regard. Mr. Huber says he hopes the data collected from this summer's research on the impact of agriculture wastes on lake water quality will have an effect on the farming community. Another agency concerned with the quality of the water both in Lake Huron and in area wells is the Huron County Health Unit. According to Ed Harrison, director of public health inspections in Huron County, says the health unit takes an estimated 150 tests per month and approximately 1,000 tests per year of wells and the lake and river water within Huron County. The water tests are sent to the Huron County Health Lab and the results are sent back to the health unit's Clinton offices for interpretation. - The health units involvement in the quality of the southern Lake Huron beaches is covered through the Summer Bathing Monitoring Program.The program ensures the bacteria levels at public beaches are below acceptable levels. Currently, says Mr. Harrison, the provincial standard for water quality of beaches is 100 Sr less E coli and 1,000 or less total coliforms. E coli or faecal coliform is found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and is a disease carrying bacteria. Total coliforms are also found in animal wastes, but are also present in the soil and in vegetation. Under the Huron County Health Unit's policy on posting beaches, a bacteria count of 100 E coli in three successive samples would result in a beach being placarded, warning swimmers of the unsafe water and to use at your own risk, he said. Raising levels However, legislators in Ontario are considering raising the acceptable level of E coli to 200 because a 100 E coli count is felt to be too stringent. Currently in the United Ctates, the maximum acceptable bacteria 13 nib handled in a manner that ensures that the liquid cannot gain access to tiles, wells or watercourses. Unfortunately, the seriousness of this problem is sometimes overlooked and waste .liquid is allowed to run off into drains and watercourses. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently investigated a fish kill complaint on the Ausable River at Highway 83 east of Exeter. The area of river affected stretched from the mouth of the Morrison Dam and Reservoir to several miles upstream. Along the affected area, the water was discolored, scum floating on top and thousands of fish lay dead. The ministry traced the source to seepage from cannery wastes on a farce to a drain tributary to the Ausable. Charges were laid under Section 16 of the Ontario Water Resources Act. The farmer faces a fine of up to $3,000. The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority's water quality program would like to stress the importance of proper handling and storage of cannery wastes. Farmers,should ensure that seepage is well contained and not allowed to run off into watercourses and drains. The conservation authority suggests that farmers follow the advice available from local offices of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. No sweet corn cannery waste storage should be planned without seeking professional advice from these offices. Phone Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority at (519) 235-2610 or the Ministry of Agriculture and Food at (519) 482-3428 or 1-800-265-5770. Steps should be taken toward a healthy soup Water has many uses. We swim in it, bathe in it and enjoy a number of recreational sports in, or on it. One -of the water sports common to this area is boating. Roth power boats and sail boats can be seen on the waters of Lake Huron during the summer months. ( Anne Narejko photo ) level is 200E coli and 1,000 total coliform. throat problems and gastrinal-intestinal Mr. Harrison says this policy has yet to take problems. However, the health -unit works effect in Ontario. closely with area physicians to point out if a With the exception of the pollution medical condition relates to poor water outbreak in 1983, the bacteria has remained quality. at consistently low levels in area beaches. "We do have a really good relationship But, the health unit, says Mr. Harrison, is with area hospitals and physicians. They becoming increasingly concerned about are as concerned as we are to get to the bacteria levels in river swimming areas. bottom of it," he says. "There hasn't been on occasion to post Lake Huron beaches since 1983," he said. "We have relatively good natural bathing areas, but we're experiencing problems in- land with higher than normal bacteria levels near dams, rivers and conservation areas. We have posted some in -land beaches. "The problem is there is a lack of volume flow in rivers and in -land lakes. This allows bacteria to collect in pockets and eddys were they can stay in one place. Usually, bacteria is subject to the natural elimination process." Mr. Harrison, like Doug Huber of the MOE, says the pollution scare along Lake Huron in 1983 was mostly caused by the abnormally hot weather, but the number of reported cases of "swimmers itch" also contributed to the area beach postings. The skin irritation, caused by an organism present in freshwater snails, is usually an uncommon occurrence in area beaches but the hot weather of that year magnified the situation, he said. The medical consequences of swimming in unsafe water vary widely and dependent on individual make-up, says Mr. Harrison. The medical problems arising from swimming in unsafe water are eye, ear and As for drinking water, the Ontario Ministry of Health ha§ a strict code for determining bacteria levels in water which would prove harmful. Faecal coliforms present in'any amount in a well would make the water unsafe. Safe water, as described by the ministry, should have no faecal coliforms and a total coliform count of under two per litre. Mr. Harrison says the county's problems relating to drinking water centre around dug wells in the area. The dug wells over 24- years -old run a greater risk of pollution because they're under 50 feet deep and have no brick casing which allow bacteria to easily contaminate the water supply. "We tell people to put in drilled wells rather than dug wells, he said. Under provincial guidelines, three samples with acceptable results collected one to three weeks apart indicate a safe supply. The well should be tested one or two times per year after that point. Regardless of how the water looks or tastes, the only way to know if it is polluted or not is to have it tested, Mr. Harrison warned. Turn to page 2 A By Mike Singleton - Federation of Ontario Naturalists Ontario desperately needs a state-of-the- art facility for treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes. Therecently-announced selection of a preferredsite for this facility is an important step toward that goal. For, the longer Ontario is without such a facility, the more we are - and will be - exposed to hazardous wastes. Every one of us - men, women, children, birds and fish - lives, breathes, drinks and moves about in a huge chemical soup. The ' basic broth has been there since time im- memorial, providing the very sustenance's for, life. But, over the past two centuries, or so, "we" (society) have begun to add vast numbers and quantities of chemicals to that soup. It has been estimated that perhaps 500 'new' chemicals • are added to our technological repetoire each year. And this doesn't include the progressive - in some cases, exponential - increase in quantities of already -used chemicals. Together, they constitute an enormous load of, ultimately, waste which must be disposed. Many of our more responsible waste generators do their utmost to ensure safe disposal. Others do not. Either way, so long as comprehensive, state-of-the-art facilities are unavailable, wastes will con- tinue to go somewhere. Some find their way into ordinary dumps. There are delightful stories around Ontario of `magic ponds', that have been filled over and over with li-. quid industrial. wastes which simply disap- peared into the ground - presumably into sand and gravel acquifers, to resurface one day in wells or springs. Other waste finds its way into insecure landfills, sometimes on . the sides of valleys, or onto gravel roads - along with waste oil used to keep down dust. Or it's surreptitiously dumped - onto roads or fallow land, and into streams or lakes. And the effects are by no means localized. PCBs, used widely as an ostensibly - contained coolant in transformers and other electrical components provides an excellent example. In the absence of suitable disposal facilities, provincial law requires indefinite storage of askorols and other high-level PCB wastes. The result is a rag -tag collec- ' tion of barrels, drums and transformers - some of them doubtless leaking - stored thither and youn throughout the province. PCBs don't quickly decompose, and if in- completely destroyed by too -low combus- tion temperatures, produce even -more in- sidious byproducts. Unlike many' other chemcials, PCBs are mobile in the environ- ment, volatolized to beiocarried by the wind, borne in water, and accumulated through the food chain. Not surprisingly, PCBs are in arctic Polar Bears, antarctic penguins, and almost every living thing - including you and I - in between. Yet, PCBs are but a few of hundreds of such wastes; the checklist for known chemicals in the Great Lakes ap- proaches 400. The result is that we are all part of a huge statistical experiment in to the combined ef- fects of myriad chemicals upon the residents of that chemical soup. The commissioning of that state-of-the-art disposal facility won't be a panacea. But it will be a major step in the right direction. It will sharply reduce the wastes reaching the soup. It will provide the best treatment available. And it will ensure that wastes ultimately land -filled are net placed into giant sieves - like Love Canal and the other now -leaking Niagara dumps - but rather in secure, impervious vaults. Predictably, nobody wants such a facility near them. They worry about spills, emis- sions and transportation accidents. But the facility must go somewhere. And the right place must, surely, be based not on political unpopularity but upon ensuring that it is the most secure facility - that with the best soils, contained drainage, the least likelihood of accident and the best technology. These are the reasons why the Federation of Ontario Naturalists pressed for govern- ment initiative in establishing hazardous waste disposal facilities. And it is for the same reason that the care and diligence be- ing exercised to site and design the facility, must be continued with utmost haste. The soup - in our interest, and that of the future generations - must be simplified.