BVRA Comments on Water and Wastewater Servicing Master Plan

Comments from the Beaver Valley Ratepayers Association (BVRA)

(as submitted to Chris Wilson of Genivar on July 19, 2011)

We commend the vision of Grey Highlands Council in undertaking this Water and Wastewater Servicing Master Plan Study and support this initiative, especially Phase 1, as it includes the Beaver Valley Recreation Area.

Both the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the County of Grey Official Plan identify the Beaver Valley Area as a growth area; as such the MOE has consistently stressed the need for municipal servicing of the area given existing residential water problems, increasing development pressure and the ignorance of the cumulative impact of more and more wells and septic systems in this fragile karstic environment. Completing feasibility and environmental assessments, leading to some level of municipal servicing in the future makes good planning sense. The BVRA anticipates that this Grey Highlands initiative will go a long way toward addressing the concerns of our members about water quality and quantity.

It also makes good planning sense to us, that by doing the groundwork now, the Municipality will be eligible in the future to take advantage of government infrastructure funding opportunities; this shows great foresight.

The BVRA affirms the need for the development of a secondary growth plan for the area as was mentioned by the planner at the March 28^th Council Meeting, coinciding with the Servicing Master Plan and we look forward as an organization to being part of that process.

Of course there are at this stage, many questions that concern BVRA members.

·      What is the cost? Who pays?

·      Will property owners be required to hook up to municipal servicing if they don’t experience water problems?

·      One alternative suggests a pumping station or stations in the area of Windy Lane and Bowles Bluff Road. Naturally this has residents there worried about noise, smell, and traffic.

·      What effect will this initiative have on current development proposals?

·      What effect will this initiative have on future development proposals?

In conclusion, the BVRA congratulates Council on this bold move, applauds the planning vision and looks forward to actively participating in the process.

Cathy Little (President) and Ed O’Neill (Vice-President)

Water and Wastewater Servicing Master Plan

On Tuesday, June 28 Grey Highlands Council held a public meeting to outline the rationale and the process of the Water and Wastewater Servicing Master Plan. Ross Slaughter, engineer with Genivar made a powerpoint presentation which can be viewed on the Grey Highlands website.

This initiative affects all of us and we urge you to become familiar with the Plan and take advantage of the opportunity to comment. Comments must be received by Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Your executive will be submitting comments which reflect the mission statement and the membership concerns of the BVRA.

No News is Good News. Right?

Well, after asking you to keep checking the blog, as you can see, there have been no new posts for a couple of months. It seems to be the nature of this process, from our perspective, that bursts of intense activity are interspersed with long stretches of wait and see. What's happening is that nothing is happening as far as we can tell.

The County has not received the requested revised plan of subdivision from the proponent at this time.

We have received Dr. Smart's report and you can read it here. We are in the process of sharing the report with the relevant agencies, politicians and planners as well as the proponent.

Environmental Defence was to consider our submission in late May and we are still waiting to hear from them.

Also, Dr. Beth Parker has responded with interest to our suggestion of the potential for a small groundwater research project in our area, but we have yet to sit down and talk to her. We will continue to try and arrange a meeting with Dr. Parker.

In March, we wrote a letter to Environment Minister, John Wilkinson. He has responded positively, with the suggestion to contact the Water Resources Supervisor of the Southwestern Regional Office. We will be doing this in the next few days.

Thank you to everyone who completed and sent in their survey. If you have not done so, you still have time.

You may have seen the notice in the paper or on the Grey Highlands website. There is a public consultation scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at 7 pm at the Centre Grey Complex in Markdale to outline the Water and Wastewater Master Servicing Plan.

Perhaps of interest to some members of the BVRA, is a town hall meeting on Saturday, June 18 at 2 pm at the Centre Grey Complex in Markdale called, Truth About Industrial Wind Turbines.

Please, if you have any suggestions or comments, you can add them here or email or phone one of your directors. We will continue to keep you posted when we have news to share.

Revised Beaver Valley Village Subdivision Plan

Martin Kiener has sent a revised subdivision site plan and revised draft plan conditions to the BVRA board.

Have a look at the original site plan for comparison. (The NS orientations are completely opposite. Rotating one of the plans will make comparison easier.)

The proponent's  revised set of conditions have come a little closer to matching the recommendations of peer reviewers; it also outlines the recommended development phasing order and process.

Your board will be assessing whether these revisions adequately address the concerns of the membership. Please contact any board member to share your views on these recent changes to the plan and conditions.

More Information: Water and Wastewater Master Plan

I have fact-checked my notes from the March 28 Grey Highlands Council meeting, with the Chief Administrative Officer, Dan Best. He cautions that the master plan initiative is very conceptual at this time. However, here are the details of that plan as presented. Council voted to designate $96 800 to cover the first step: a study investigating feasibility and environmental impact of the plan.

Grey Highlands Water and Wastewater Master Plan

Municipal services for the Beaver Valley? That is the vision of Mayor Wayne Fitzgerald. It is just one phase of a grand plan to pipe water to the Beaver Valley Ski Club recreation area, Flesherton, Eugenia and the lower valley and take waste from these locations to one of the three existing treatment facilities.

At the Grey Highlands Council Meeting today, Council approved the expenditure of $96 800 to proceed with the Regional Water and Wastewater Systems Plan which includes the Class B Environmental Assessment. This followed a presentation of the master plan concept from Ross Slaughter of Genivar, the firm undertaking the assessment and plan.

For details of the Grey Highlands Public Utility Report and the Genivar budget and timeline of the assessment and master plan, check the links.

Watch here for more details about the plan and how this affects the Beaver Valley Village proposal.

WHEN THE WELL IS DRY

 WE KNOW THE WORTH OF OUR WATER

(Benjamin Franklin)

Annual General Meeting

Kimberley Hall

Saturday March 19, 2011 3-6pm

Registration/Fee Payment 3-3:30pm

Meeting Begins: 3:30pm

Plan to Attend


Your directors will be reporting on the detailed activities/correspondence undertaken on your behalf to affirm        


THE WORTH OF OUR WATER

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