The Goderich Signal-Star, 1971-08-12, Page 16: GI1iAL-STAR. THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1971
Mnitland
C?ntinued from Page 1
-,,t atingt flailing, swimming,
picnicking ' and just plain
watching.
. a
OfficLals of H the Save The
Maitland Association believe
that a ' coin'bination pf bad
udgentent and costly errors have
caused today's condition of the
Maitland. In the first place, there
is doubt in the minds of some
people about the 'wisdom of
locating a "WO industry" such
as' Campbell's Soups Ltd. at
,Listowel where there was, not
.__--..proper sewage . treatment-,,,
�-'
,,proper
it:
There .are people who are
convinced the lagoon which was
co-operatively constructed (70
percent Campbell's. Sours and 30
percent Town of Listowel to
handle the„ sewage , from the
town and the soup plant, was
never large enough in the, first
place.
There are still more who
say that the Maitland River djust
does not have , sufficient
year-round flow -to effectively
dilute the effluent from the
lagoon. That belief was
substantiated during the tour
when we noted in some places
the river was barely trickling
over . the rocks -with about as
•
toaranteed investment
Certificates
engineer to Toronto but the fact
remains that the Middle
Maitland River from below
Listowel to Brussels was a
"stinking mess".
The reports arethat the
' dump. was timed to coincide
with high water in the Maitland
but in fact, the cell was emptied
. several days after the high water'
tune. There was . definitely
something terribly wrong at that
time in the Maitland because for
tile first time ever, people who
live on the Maitland were
reporting sighting dead'
wildlife- =muskrat..• -and- --tfurtles•,
for instance -floating dead and
bloated on the river's surface.
The river developed a
crust -something like a light
cardboard' or a soft canvass
fibre --on top of the water. It
smelled like something which
was decaying and it took on the
much force as you would ,have
from a garden gose turned on at
half pressure.
• The Ontario Water
Resources Commission, the
provincial government's
watchdog for such matters; has
admitted that the lagoon serving
the --Listowel area has been
overloaded since 1g62. Yet
so ehow the two- e
m c d -acre
1 r7Q
•
permitted to sit there quietly for
the past nine years seeping into
the Maitland' -River, the life of
which is ebbing away with each
new day.
There seems to be lit'tle
doubt . that the QWRC has.
accepted at least. some" of the
blame for the pollution of the
Maitland River. The Listowel
Banner last week reported that
OWRC has "compensated. five
farmers living hear the' Listowel„
sewag lagoon for losses incurred
and farm , constructipn made.
necessary by damage caused by
the effluent' from the
over -loaded .facility".
The story tells ' how
cheques totalling $600 have
been ..mailed to Charles Mann,
.RR 2 Listowel; Ken Hamilton,
RR 2 Listowel; and Ron Wood;
RR -2 Listowel "for fences which
they., had, ,to construct to keep
their -cattle away , from the
polluted river water andfor loss
of pasture". ''
And the OWRC just last
week' opened ,the newly
constructed'11/ -acre aerated cell
which, OWRC officials say, will
handle sewage requirements
'arouftd Listowel until 1974. This
aerated cell .contains two
monstrous aerators which pump
air into the sewage dumped
directly from Campbell's *Soup
and the town of Listowel and
•churn it up, breaking down the
solids. Theory • then holds that
the solid waste drops to the
bottom and the effluent which
-finds its way into.the Maitland is
relatively clear.
Ironically, it • was during
the construction of this aerated
cell that one of the `remaining
two sewage cells was dumped,
releasing an estimated 296,000
tons of sewage into the Maitland
' about mid-April.
The dump has been called
a mistake on the part of an
i
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appearance ora filthy sesspool.
It Was” hardly, ,the beautiful,
sparkling Maitland River which
has been a joy in this part of,
Ontario for years and years.
The man who perhaps
suffers the most from the
,seepage butof the Listowel
lagoon is Ken Hamilton. His
lovely farm home is located
directly "opposite the big tile
drain which carries the effluent
from the lagoon and pours it
gently into a common, ordinary ,
ditch right at.- the side of the
road.
,Wednesday the stench
',from that, drain was
stomach-turning.„,We could just
imagine that Ken. Hamilton and
his family must ' be truthfully*
driven from their home - w
-i
Since the effluent from
the lagoon has been' shut off, the
river lias begun to revitalize
itself. A release from The Save
The Maitland Association, -had
this to say:
"Since the Listowel
sewage lagoon has been.severed
from the Maitland, the large
islands of 'floating green scum
have disappeared. The green
algae which for the ,last 10 years
ha been found, along the shores
is almost gone. Even the growth
of floeing weeds which
formerly chokedthe channel has
~~� been -visibly retarded: -The -water "'
which was a muddy brown. has'
become clear- and clean. ,:The
bettor, of the river can once •
again be seen. It would appear ,
that the river above the Brussels
dam is fit for swimming."
The rel ase also noted that
the clean g of the river "has
taken place in spite of the
disgraceful 'amount of sewage
still entering the river in the
Town} of Listowel and in spite of
the polluted condition oft; -the
river east of Highway 23."
And this is ,another story;
A, visit to Listowel is a real
treat. Listowel is a pretty town
with well -kept streets, a vital
business section—and a large
green park through which the
Middle Maitland flows. '
At the very back of the
park, above the residential area
of the - down, the water in the
river is fresh and clean. Water
up since the lagoon was shut off.
"Why . it was just a year
ago this past spring that we tool
,a picture of a killdeer walking
right across the river, on the
scum without getting its feet"
'wet.
'r 1 The farmer was Alex
Cameron of the Cranl?rook area.
He sent a copy of the picture to
Huron -Bruce MPP Murray Gaunt
who in turn passed it 'along to
the OWRC.
"That was the last we
heard of it," said Cameron.
Just how badly the
land _at .G.Prieb has been-
affected is difficult to
determin'e':" The Maitland around
the Golf and Country Club
doesn't, appear to be
polluted -that is, there --is- no
scum on the water to make it
lilies abound and it is a beautiful
sight.
Just 'a few hundred yards
below that, however, but still in
r the water • n .an
effluent pours' out with some
force. It actually flows under the
road and directly through the
Hamilton farm 'only a few rods
from the house. , ,
Rumors are that studies
have been 'conducted " 'tom
determine the feasibility -0 of
putting a massive cover on the
sewage ditch which winds
'through the Hamilton farm to
hold down the stench. A
John Vander Eyk, RR 2
Listowel, a "provincial director of
the ,. Ontariio Federation of
Agriculture, received payment
about two weeks ago from the
OWRC for tile drainage which he
installed to handle seepage from
the lagoon ontohis land.
"I "'have been trying for
seven years to get them• to
compensate me for the •damage
to my land from the lgakage,
and now they have finally done
it," Vander 'Eyk told the
•Listowel Banner. "It was only
this spring -after they drained,
the cell and then shut off the
effluent from . the lagoon
completely that my ' land has,
been dry enough to even install
"the tile..,Every other year it has
been, too wet.'
But Vander , Eyk isn't
resting easy. He referred to the
condition of the two existing
cells which have been storing
effluent .since protests from
farmers and landowners
, prompted the OWRC to stop all
drainage from the lagoon In
May,. He fears the OWRC is
going to have to start drainage
procedures "either this week or
riext or flood y'lane,
"The conditiop - is very
bad, "Vander Eyk. 'continued,
"and they(OWRC) are afraid of
what is going to happen When.
drainage from the lagoon. into
the river is ,resumed. They are
ging to have to empty the cells
and they are afraid to do it."
develop .a scum and .a stench.
Evidently sewage from
somewhere . in , the town of
Listowel was 'finding its way to
the river.. -
Just:. -below - the 'town of
Listowel 'hut still veil' above'•the
lagoon the river *as definitely
polluted and dirty. It was not a
pretty thing to look at. There
was refuse .of various types
',floating in and on the water.
The Ass:ocation' is.
particularly concerned abdut the
contents from,, open sewers
running' through Albert Avenue
in Listowel and, draining into the
Maitland. ,
N "You can ,see the.. results '
for yourself," said 'Jim Vallarfbe.
"And you don't have to look ..
far. 'All you have to dos is take a .
look at the river where it flows
into town, up in the 'park area
and then take another look at it
at the westerly limits of town. In
the park it is relatively clear
while at the westerly limits it's a
real stinking mess."
"I'm sure the people of
Listowel don't -want this any •
more -than we ' do," he
continued. "And I ,can't
understand town council's
attitude. ,the mayor (David
Kilberg) says we'll just have to
learn to live with it; but that just
isn't good enough.'!* ` '
But despite the 'fact that_
there is certainly cause for alarm'
right in the town of Listowel,
the Listowel' lagoon system still
looks like ,the big culprit in the
°story• • •
As officials .of the Save
The Maitland Asstociation have
,s,ttated since the lagoon was shut
off: "There can 'surely be no
more damning evidence against
the Listowel lagoon system than
this sudden change in the river's
appearance and condition."
One farmer explained just
how much the river has cleared
;`if the wind is from the North,
-it should create an impressive
reaction from the hundreds of
bathers using the Qgderich
beaches".
There is little 'doubt that
the Town of . Goderich
untilmately reveives the sewage
duniped ►to ' ."the Middle
Maitland River at Listowel.
y,
Certainl' ''tip water clears itself
on its estimated 100 -mile run to
Lake Huron- at our doorstep but
Bill Craven, •the local
representative for the Save 'The
Maitland Association stilt
doesh't like the, thought that
"-raw sewage couldbe trapped all
around our fresh water intake
pipe"
"We need support
Goderich," says 'Jim Vallance,
"and in Auburn and from all the
people who live along the
Maitland at the southern end of
the' river. Surely 'they must be
concerned about the .condition ,
of the Maitland."
imith -reimioit held;,
new executive named
look unhealthy.
e-wdter is
going on regularly and show
nothing which is cause for alarm.
But that's not any sort of proof
at all, says Jim Vallance. '
"tests alone are not
enough," says Valiance. "I'm no
. believer in tests at all, •not that
kind of tests..I would far sooner
rely on common sense than a
bunch' of tests."
Paul Carroll, Reeve of
Goderich, chairman of the
' harbor _committee, and the
Hugon' New' Democratic
Candidate is concerned about it.
He has, provided a statement on
the subject for this edition of
the Goderich Signal -Star which
says ' that if , the lagoon at
Listowel is'dumped 'again into
the l atttapd,,,,River, the impact
2?
REMEMBER
,1
Last Spring ['nion (Tas acfe.ised
i:ts customers that a service
charge will he made for the
light -up of natural gas heating
equipment it• the request is
received I)et ween September 1
and November ember 1.
'I'EII,; ('HA1WE FOB. THIS
-1 RV'I('E WILL BE $5.
It is recommended that pilot
lights on most ,gas heating
equipment he left on during
the summer months.
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}it>t, if' for some reason your, 1
'furnace pilot light is off, we
would Suggest you make youly
request for light -up NOW and 1
save $5. to
You'll also be ready for that
ftr:;t.Autumn cold snap. 1
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,1111111111111M ism i Wan alit Ili tllilelasim1
mill a — r tit6. — — j
O
Sunday, July 25 descendants
uf- the�-late- VI'r- an& --Mrs: has
Smith sat down 40 a bountiful
lunch at Harbour 'Park,
GoderiLh, with sixty-three
peoplein attendance from the
surrounding area, Toronto,
Brussels and Ripley.. -R
The sports' were ctnvepred by,
-Linda ahR Susan" Brooks and
prizes'and,balloons were given to
dren.'
Prizes were given to, the
oldest thechilcouple attending,'Mr. and
Mrs. Franklen;man with most
, change in pocket; Bill Hardy; no,
of beans in jar, Bernice Glen;
and person with most freckles,
Elsie Hardy. - ;
The new executive for 1972
will be Marjory Brooks, Mr. and
Mrs ' Bill Hardy,, Mr. and Mrs.
_Gary Glen, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas
Y<
of It .should...reach..the Auburn • ,:Brindley and Mr. and • Mrs.
The picnic. will be held at
Farbour Parlki Code '-tchr-on-the_._
fourth Sunday of July 1972.
,4-H- exchange
_ _ _ --in Hron
s
Glen McNeil of R•. R. 6,
Goderich, spent a week at the
Rainbow Valley . Dairy ,Farms,
. owned by Drummond Brothers,
at Smith's Falls, Ontario, on a
4-H exchange. Earl Drummond
returned for a week with Glen to
Heather Holme Farms at -R. R.
6, Goderich.
CAREFUL to `
smokes dead out,
yy r /
7�C�.RB��
sports.
after the initial flow begins" and
now!
'1M
r�r
Get yours today at...
7/u' enior Trust C'wnp tkv
devoted entirely to .uervin,r,
the people of Ontario.
MA and GREY
TRUST"COMPANY SINCE 1889
9:00 to 5:00 Monday,to Thursday
9:00 to 6:00 Friday
5
7r r... ,j. 'r
' 1.i -!-'m 73a.;.
Elgin and Kingston Streets, Goderich
Think about it.
Your feet do a lot of
things for you. They dance
when you're happy. They •c'''
Walk vghen,you have to get
someplace. They jump when
you're excited'. They tiptoe
When you come home late. "
In short, you can't get ajong
well without, them. And
that's, where proper footwear
-°helps: -,— •
When you play;tennis,
you wear tennis, shoes. When
you walk, you wear good
walking shoes. And ,when ,
you work, if your job pans
for them, you wear safety,
shoes. They,protect your et
from injuries. Puncture--
• resistant solesprotect
against protruding nails. f
Protective toe' caps absorb
I.the shock of falling objects.
And painful stubbing:"And
deep treads in the sbles ,
protect against treacherous
walking conditions.
Take a good look °at your
'shoes. Make sure they're not
getting run 'down at the heel.
Change fraying laces. And
check the §oles to see that
they're in good condition.
That's what self-defence
is. Taking good care of
yourself. .
n
Proper footwear"
protects your feet.
•
Self-defenie.It
Ate• t, 1 � N. r .. •1
„ Sour'W srkm 's' J mperisa'tion`;',Boatd ffety A oci ;tion s, Ott '4o -
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