The Rural Voice, 2000-11, Page 33News
farmers, "this country has got the
best deal possible on food".
Andy DeVries, in his retirement
speech as president, took up the
theme of people getting involved.
"We need to be part of the
decisions and not let government
make the decisions without us," he
said.
Recalling how much he had
learned since he joined the Perth
Federation's board of directors six
years ago, DeVries invited others to
join in.
"Maybe it's time for you as an
individual to get involved," he said.0
New provincial water
regulations could
cripple small systems
New provincial water regulations,
adopted in the aftermath of the
Walkerton E.coli water tragedy,
could increase the cost of operating
small rural communal water systems
beyond the breaking point, according
to some Huron County councillors.
Under new rules, all water systems
down to those serving just five
households, will have to undertake
the same testing procedures of as a
large urban municipal water system.
Howick Reeve Norm Fairies said
under the old system small systems
had to have a test done for pesticide
residues every couple of years at a
cost of $600 per test but the new
regulations require that test to be
done four times a year. That's a cost
of $2,400 to be shared among the
users of the well, he said. In one case
in his township, that cost would have
to be borne by just 30 customers, he
said.
Reeve Laurie Cox of Goderich
Township said there are other
problems with the requirement there
be a certified operator for communal
wells. In one case there are eight
customers on a system and the new
costs of testing and supervision will
work out to an estimated $3,000 per
customer, per year.
The province is totally inflexible,
Cox said. "The regulations are there.
There are no exceptions."
Cox worried that the higher costs
would lead to more people drilling
their own wells because wells serving
only one property don't need to meet
the regulations. But more wells could
cause more problems for the
environment, especially in densely
populated areas like the Lakeshore.
"We don't want a hole punched
every 250 or 100 feet into the
aquifer. We don't want a whole lot
more points for contaminants to get
into our aquifers," he said.
Gary Davidson, Huron County
director of planning and
development, said his department is
recommending that municipalities
take care with any new communal
water systems being proposed.
"Make sure the system is put in at the
standard," he said. That standard now
also includes a chlorination system
which will add to the cost for small
systems.
Many developers of small rural
enclaves are ready to turn over their
water systems to the municipality,
Davidson said, but municipalities
may not want them because of the
cost of bringing them up to the new
standards and operating the new
testing procedures.
What's more, it appears the
government regulations will apply to
increasingly smaller communal
systems, from five to four, then three
and finally, two households per well.
Because of that the municipality may
want to take over ownership now, he
said.
But Jack Coleman, reeve of Stanley
Township, noted this too could be a
problem because many of the wells
are located on private property, with
one owner supplying his or her
neighbours with water for a small
charge.
"It's a problematic situation,"
Davidson agreed. "In many places
there aren't any easements and they
don't even know where the (water)
lines are."
In places where an individual is
supplying his neighbours, "I can see
a lot of people walking away from it
(agreements with neighbours)," he
said, pointing to the cost of
chlorination and testing. That could
mean rural council meetings will be
filled with people seeking solutions
to their water problems.0
Advice
How to deal with
mycotoxins
in wheat straw
By Janice Murphy, Swine
Nutritionist, OMAFRA
"Wet and Wild" is an expression
most of us might associate with an
advertising campaign for a waterslide
park, but this year it serves as a
fitting description of our summer
weather. It was inevitable, with the
cool, wet weather we experienced
throughout the summer, that mold
and mycotoxins would be a steady
topic of conversation this fall.
With the prevalence of mold and
mycotoxins in wheat, one question
that surfaced this year is the potential
for wheat straw to contribute to
mycotoxicoses in livestock,
particularly in swine and horses.
Although there is plenty of
information available on mycotoxins
in feed grains, looking for
information on mycotoxin -
contaminated straw is almost like
looking for the proverbial needle in a
straw stack.
A joint study between Manitoba
Agriculture and the Canadian Grain
Commission reports that DON (AKA
deoxynivalenol or vomitoxin) is
found almost entirely in Fusarium -
damaged kernels, while negligible
levels are found in non -damaged
kernels and in the stem. A study in
corn with highly contaminated ears
(90 ppm DON) showed that the
stalks tested at 1-2 ppm DON; a
similar study looking at the
progression of fungal growth in
wheat straw confirmed that the same
(is true in wheat.
These results suggest that the
amount of DON in cereal straw will
depend primarily on the presence of
contaminated grain and chaff.
According to the Manitoba
Agriculture report, straw with a high
concentration of this material should
not be fed to horses or used as
bedding for hogs. Removing the
contaminated chaff dust and kernels,
by tedding or raking prior to baling
the straw will reduce the risk of
animals ingesting toxins.
One of the most important things
to remember is to only use dry straw.
NOVEMBER 2000 29