[All] Water diversions proposed on a massive scale...

Fri Mar 19 23:54:27 EDT 2010

Dear Lulu and others,

Thanks for the update regarding what the City is doing.  Indeed, the
deterioration of the Forested Hills ESPA has begun in earnest.  Several
years ago, Susan Smith said it best: the Forested Hills "will die a slow
death", and "development will strangle this area like a noose".

In a similar vein but regarding a different moraine, and on a much bigger
scale, I append below a superb article (apologies in advance if you have
already seen it) regarding a massive 12-kilometre water pipeline proposed
for siphoning off water from the Oak Ridges Moraine, in order to support
massive residential-commercial development near Peterborough.  It has
eerie echoes of the pipeline idea we occasionally hear about here, albeit
in this case it would be even more worrisome because of the dangerous
precedent it would set.  As hydrogeologist, I am deeply worried, because
this could set the stage for unparalleled future water-mining from
protected areas.  It undermines the entire protected-status concept for
the Oak Ridges Moraine...and the same thing could theoretically happen for
ESPAs elsewhere, and maybe even our own ESLs here in Waterloo Region!

What do you think about all this?

Thanks again,
Michael Frind.

P.S.: Many years ago, as an elementary-school student, I once remarked
that much more environmental protection could be accomplished simply by
maintaining a stable population (rather than the hodgepodge of patchwork
measures we currently have), but unfortunately, our entire political
system (while can be considered a subset of the business community) is
bent on the holy grail of endless growth.  How much environmental
destruction occurs from this no-end-in-sight growth is the open question.

Offsite Development Seeks to Drain the Moraine

From:
http://earthroots.org/index.php/Alerts/offsite-development-seeks-to-drain-the-moraine.html

Friday, 29 January 2010 17:50

A massive proposed development in Fraserville, Peterborough County, has
exposed a dangerous loophole in the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan
(ORMCP); it appears that developments outside of the Moraine’s boundaries
can by-pass protection and pipe water from within protected areas of the
Moraine to service their water needs.  The Fraserville development would
involve an expansion to the OLG Slots Casino at Kawartha Downs, 684
residential units, a new golf course with club house and additional
residential units, an entertainment complex, hotel, recreation centre,
community centre, big box stores, auto-dealerships, and the list goes on.

Historic contamination has rendered groundwater at the Fraserville site
unusable, so the Kawartha Downs Casino is already opting to truck in water
from the town of Millbrook, 12 kilometres away.  As the site cannot even
sustain the water needs of the Casino, developing a new sprawling
community at this same location violates any notion of sustainable
land-use planning.  However, as the Casino is a vital part of the tax base
for the township of Cavan-Monaghan, this massive development is an attempt
to justify constructing costly new infrastructure to keep the Casino
viable.  Fraserville’s extremely controversial servicing plan involves
constructing a 12 kilometre pipeline to the town of Millbrook’s well
system, which pulls its water from within the protected area of the Oak
Ridges Moraine!

Under the ORMCP, protection for groundwater is triggered when a major
development like Fraserville takes place on the Moraine.   However, as
this development is outside of the ORMCP Area, no protection is triggered,
despite the planned withdrawal of large amounts of groundwater from
sensitive and allegedly protected aquifers.

PLACES TO GROW: VISIONS OF A NEW UNSUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY

Just as this development has found a way to by-pass our Moraine
protection, one would think the Places to Grow plan would preclude such
unsustainable planning.  As Ontario’s answer to ongoing urban sprawl,
Places to Grow mandates that development be focused within existing urban
boundaries, in areas that already have infrastructure in place to support
development.  While the Fraserville proposal clearly does not conform with
Places to Grow, it is exempted as the applications were submitted just
months prior to the growth plan’s enactment.  Local citizens learned this
when they inquired about Fraserville to Ontario’s Growth Secretariat;
ironically all the Secretariat could say was that they were hoping issues
with water would prevent development.

While Ontario has a reputation for being a province that is particularly
developer friendly, there seems to be a growing sense of unrest and anger
from the public as unsustainable development continues to over-tax water
resources, and greenspace is further reduced and fragmented.  Despite
vocal opposition from the public and policies that aim to curb sprawl and
foster intensification, the Fraserville/Millbrook development is still on
the table, threatening to turn yet another rural area into a sprawling
community dominated by big-box stores.  The real kicker is that in this
case the monstrosity will be fed with ‘protected’ groundwater from the Oak
Ridges Moraine.

THE OAK RIDGES MORAINE: SUSTAINING SOUTHERN ONTARIO

The Oak Ridges Moraine forms the headwaters of 65 different rivers and
streams; it acts as a giant ‘Brita’ filter for Southern Ontario, cleaning
our water and slowly distributing it back into the lakes that most of us
pull our drinking water from.  In 2002, the provincial government passed
the landmark Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan to ensure the protection
of this integral water source.  The Plan emphasizes the significance of
maintaining and restoring hydrological integrity, and attempts to foster
sustainable use of the Moraine’s water resources.

Understanding of the Moraine’s complex system of underground aquifers is
poor; Earthroots 2008 “Ontario’s Water Hazard” case study revealed
alarming mismanagement of groundwater on the Moraine.  Not surprisingly,
people in the town of Millbrook and surrounding area are very worried
about the proposed water diversion for Fraserville; an 800% increase in
water use from Millbrooks’ wells is necessary just to service the first of
three phases of development, and initial pumping tests already had
significant impacts on nearby wells.  If the water table is lowered, it
could affect wells in the rural area for miles around.

While immediate impacts from the Fraserville development are extremely
concerning, the precedent it could set is even more worrisome.  If
Fraserville establishes the practice of allowing development outside of
the Moraine to be serviced with Moraine water, many lands surrounding the
Greenbelt with insufficient water for development will quickly become
alluring opportunities for developers.  As lands closer to Toronto
continue to be gobbled up by sprawl, tapping into the Moraine for offsite
development would not only have untold impacts on the Moraine’s hydrology,
it would also further limit the Greenbelt’s ability to meet its goals of
limiting sprawl and encouraging development within urban areas already
serviced by infrastructure.

We need you to lend your voice, and tell our elected officials that
draining the Moraine for offsite development is a disastrous idea!

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment
12th Floor, 135 St. Clair Ave. W.
Toronto, ON
M4V 1P5
Phone: 416-314-6790
Fax: 416-314-7337

The Honourable Jim Bradley
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing  17th floor, 777 Bay St.
Toronto, ON
M5G 2E5
Phone: 416-585-7000
Fax: 416-585-6470

Rick Johnson MPP
Queen's Park Office, Room 330, Main Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto, ON
M7A 1A4
Phone: 416-325-6553
Fax: 416-325-6640
email: rjohnson.mpp.co at liberal.ola.org This e-mail address is being
protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or submit your comments through the premier’s website:
https://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback

For more information, visit the Speak Out Cavan Monaghan website at
http://www.socm.ca/; or contact Josh Garfinkel, Earthroots Senior
Campaigner, at joshg at earthroots.org. This e-mail address is being
protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it /
416-599-0152 x15.

=========================================================
 Michael Frind
 346 Marlowe Dr, Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2L 5A4
 frind at execulink.com
 519-885-4415 or 519-572-6043
=========================================================

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