Environmental ArticlesBy Topic | By Publication - Sun Times, Owen Sound, Ontario Water,
Earth, Air,
Fire - A Four-Part Special Series Water - Part I Melissa Etheridge will be at Watershed IV this summer. When she sings, "Somebody bring me some water…" will we be able to? I mean, without buying back our natural resource from some bottling company that's harvested it right under our noses while we were busy watching Erin Brokovich for the umpteenth time on video and thinking, "Wow. What a babe. Wish I looked that good in a halter top." Hello, people! If Walkerton wasn't enough of a wake-up call to get up off the couch and DO something already, I don't know what was. And who made fighting for the environment sexier than the now Goddess-stature Brokovich? Even if ordinary citizens don't take an interest in their water, there are plenty of corporate types who already are, and it's usually not for our health that they're doing it. It ain't just a movie, it's here and now and happening all over Ontario. So where do we start? After all, it's pretty easy to feel swamped by the number of water issues we face today. In an effort to come up with strategies, last weekend The Owen Sound & Area Community Foundation hosted a three-day Environmental Forum which focussed on shorelines and water quality. Blake Smith, a member of Sydenham Sportsman's Association and the Federation of Anglers and Hunters, was one of the attendees. Smith doesn't need a halter top and spandex leggings to make an impression. As a retired fish and wildlife management officer and conservation officer with The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Smith is a fount of knowledge. When asked how citizens can help, Smith says, "You can get active. If you see the obvious - if someone's polluting - yell to the Ministry of the Environment or to the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans." Ah. A phone call. Good idea. Complain. And who among us doesn't like to complain once in a while? Think of it. It's a win-win situation: you get to bitch, and it's for a good cause. So, the next time you see some yahoo on a bulldozer straight-gutting a stream (you get to say cool things like "straight-gutting a stream" when you're an environmental crusader), pick up the phone and call, oh, say the MNR or the MOE (Ministry of the Environment. You also get to use cool acronyms if you're an environmentalist. Ok, ok, I didn't know what "straight-gutting" was either. I'm not that cool. Apparently it's when a bulldozer straightens a stream to get the water off the land. Except unfortunately when that happens, the water goes, but so does the fishing habitat. Oops. Can I put it back? Bzzzzzzz….no you can't. Sorry. You lose, but thanks for playing). And while you're sitting on your deck drinking wine at the cottage, you can keep an eye on the shoreline. No, not just for romantic sunsets. If you notice something fishy, like, say, removal of the littoral zone (another cool phrase. It's the shallow water at the shoreline, below the high water mark), you also need to report it, says Smith. So what's the big deal about this area? Well, think of it as the lake's kitchen or dining room, literally the source of nutrients that energize the sea (or pond, or whatever). So in-filling, dredging, putting bulldozers in or driving your ATV through that area is pretty much like driving your ATV through the kitchen of a restaurant - you (and all the other guests, for that matter) can forget dinner for sometime to come because you've totally destroyed the ingredients and the entire serving area. There are more than just shoreline worries (Lake Huron, by the way, is the last of the Great Lakes to have an organized body to oversee its health, or a LAMP - that's cool talk for "Lake Area Management Plan"). For example, according to the Concerned Citizens of the Township of Chatsworth (CCTC), last December Aurora Beverages Corporation received a Permit to Take Water from the Ministry of the Environment in the Township of Chatsworth to take 6,542 liters per hour, 365 days a year, for a total of 57,865,150 liters per year. Geez, and I thought we Canadians were beer drinkers. Who is drinking all this water and why don't they get their own? The company also plans to build a new water-storage building in what is currently a wetland (a natural habitat for a myriad of critters). Hard to have a "wet" land if you take out the "wet," right? Then there's the Blueland Farms Ltd.'s bid to expand their gravel pit operation in the Township of Chatsworth. The proposed expansion is located directly in the area of the headwaters of the Bighead River and within the range of the Spey River headwaters, according to a February 14, 2003 report prepared by local concerned citizens. Some 200 people showed up at last month's meeting to voice their concerns. Grey Sauble Conservation Authority has also asked that a decision be delayed until more information is available. (What? Wait until we have all the facts to make a decision that will impact the environment? What are they thinking? There's money to be made…) But it's not all bad news. On the bright side, we've got one of Ontario's environmental champions right here in our own back yard: GABP, or the Grey Association for Better Planning. This Spring, GABP is gushing about their recent victory at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. It's being hailed as a potentially precedent-setting decision, and media as far-flung as the Toronto Star and the CBC have been lauding the group, headed by Anna Scott, president. The case resulted in commercial water taking being defined as a land use activity. (Um…excuse me, but if it's not a land use activity, where do they think the water comes from, vending machines?). This means that municipalities can have some control over our own natural resources. Believe it or not, without GABP's having fought this case, Artemesia Waters Ltd. would have been able to remove water from an agricultural area over the objections of the Township and the County. In other words, here, have a drink…it's on us. But the battle isn't over, and the bill remains. So there's another simple thing you can do. Cough up some cash for a worthy cause, so that others who have the time and initiative can continue to do the work for all of us, and for future generations. Finally, you could take the plunge and get out to a meeting of any of the many environmental groups in the area. As a primer, think about coming out to the next Annual General Meeting for GABP this Saturday, April 5 in Markdale. You'll meet some cool and concerned fellow citizens (now that you're armed with some catch phrases and essential acronyms, all you need is the skimpy outfit and the attitude), and enjoy a great pot luck lunch. And maybe a long, tall drink of cool water. For more information, contact:
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