Chamber promotes Great Lakes petition

[Spiel]

Chamber promotes Great Lakes petition

 

Jan 23, 2008

meafordexpress.com

 

Scott Woodhouse photo / In 1987, "The Sisters," a local landmark at Memorial Park, were barely out of the water. Now you can walk to them and not get your feet wet. Meaford Chamber of Commerce President Rod MacAlpine holds a petition from the Georgian Bay Association demanding the government act on low water levels in the Upper Great Lakes.

 

 

It's time to fix the "hole in the bucket" before Lake Huron and Georgian Bay water levels become an environmental catastrophe beyond repair.

 

 

The Meaford and District Chamber of Commerce is supporting and distributing a petition from the Georgian Bay Association (GBA) demanding the federal government take action on the "alarming downtrend in upper Great lakes water levels."

 

 

"I'm concerned about the health of the Bay for the sake of the town, not just shoreline property owners," said Chamber of Commerce Ivan Franklin, who brought the petition to the chamber's executive.

 

 

"I believe this is something we should be fighting for," he added. "We need to continue to put pressure on politicians at all levels."

 

 

Franklin voiced frustration about promises of more studies from governments on both sides of the border. "They continue to try to find out why water levels are dropping - the answer is simple - there is too much water flowing out and not enough coming in," he said, in an interview this week.

 

 

Franklin noted the Georgian Bay Association has done a lot of work in bringing the matter to the forefront and he agrees with their stand on the St. Clair River problem/solution.

 

A study commissioned by the Georgian Bay Association stated that dredging of the river had caused increased erosion and increased outflow from Lake Huron as a result.

 

 

"They believe that rather than spending $17 million on another study, the money would be better spent on mitigation measures that would control the outflow from Lake Huron.

 

 

"In fact, there was an order 20 years ago to do just that but it was never acted on," he said.

 

 

"Municipalities need to band together and force this issue because the costs to our communities will be enormous," he said, referring to a recent article in which the Mayor of the Town of the Blue Mountains said it would cost millions of dollars to extend their water intake pipes to deeper water if levels continue to drop.

 

 

The GBA has been lobbying for action for the past few years over concerns that the Upper Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron, are experiencing an alarming downtrend in water level, which has continued unabated and has now reached a record low.

 

 

The primary source of water flow into Lake Huron is from Lake Superior, which is also at an 80 year low, states the petition, and therefore it is unrealistic to expect substantially more water from lake Superior to remedy the low water problem in Lake Huron.

 

 

According to the petition, water loss from Lake Huron through the St. Clair River has increased threefold to 2.5 billion gallons a day, the equivalent of 10 million tons of water or a block of water one square mile in area and 12 feet high.

 

 

"Unless this hole in the bucket is fixed very soon, the problem will get worse and there will be no possible recovery," sates the petition, adding the non-renewable resource is being irreparably squandered. "The impact on millions of boaters, shippers, anglers, property owners, beach visitors and the businesses they patronize, will be devastating."

 

 

The GBA petition calls on the Government of Canada to take action immediately by constructing proper mitigation structures in the St. Clair River as well as cover material to protect further erosion near the Bluewater Bridge.

 

 

The petition is available for signing at the Chamber of Commerce office on Trowbridge St. For more information, visit the GBA website.

 

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