La Grande Riviere

undervalued green assets?

2008-11-04T12:33:00.003-05:00

"Unless the world goes completely carbon neutral by 2100 -- meaning carbon dioxide emissions are being removed from the atmosphere at the same rate they're being put in -- we face severe consequences...."If you want to meet your best natural ally in the fight against air pollution and global warming, look at the nearest tree. ===> read all of blog posted to Shirt Tales.

redirect to main blog

2007-10-26T13:52:00.000-04:00

Do visit my main blog as RR is no longer posting to La Grande Riviere?
Use this link to Shirt Tales blog www.forsythkitchener.blogspot.com

2007-08-04T11:59:00.001-04:00

Today's blog "runaway growth" is found at this link:

http://www.forsythkitchener.blogspot.com/

Photo copyright Sandamara Images 2006: Kitchener's Huron Natural Area located within the environmentally sensitive Strasburg Creek watershed-- also undergoing development pressures.

soil basics*

2007-07-21T12:25:00.000-04:00

For starters, this graph from left to right:

Before European settlement, all of these lands were covered in dense forests and rain water either moved into the air (evapotranspiration) or into groundwater/interflow. As the forests were cleared, the amount of groundwater began to decrease significantly depending on land use--until where land has been totally covered over with impervious surface, there is none filtering through to replenish groundwater supplies! Easy to see the impact our new subdivisions with huge houses on small lots or the mushroom-style smaller detached houses with a handkerchief lawn on tiny 29 foot lots have on our shrinking groundwater supply. With all that runoff, no wonder the Region is proposing a stormwater tax to cover the increasing infrastructure costs!

Soil stores & regulates water flow, thus naturally maintaining flow rates and water cycles year round. The uppermost soil layer traps most of the rainfall. When this layer becomes saturated, some of the moisture works its way through the more porous sections of the lower soil layers. This process filters rainfall and stores water for long periods of time.

Traditional suburban development has a negative impact on the natural hydrologic cycle. When the initial soil and vegetation layers are replaced by impervious surfaces, moisture flows immediately off-site and into storm-water retention ponds and storm drains. Very little water flows into underground reservoirs (aquifers). Because rainfall flows off-site so quickly, there is no chance of rainwater sinking deeper into the aquifers..

Development on Waterloo moraine involves smoothing out the most extreme hills & removing the till cap (cf. photo of grading operation above). Inherent danger is that there will be holes left that will allow contamination (road salt) to seep into the aquifer.

2006 proposal re storm tax: user fee to cover cost of diverting stormwater into area creeks and rivers; rates based on area of property that is paved or occupied by buildings. More of either impervious surface increases the amount of runoff that goes into the stormwater system.

Need to determine the ideal amount of development that can be built on the land while sustaining the natural environment. The maximum amount of development is expressed as the percent of the watershed that can be covered by impervious surfaces. Essentially this is the development capacity of the watershed. (City of Hamilton Planning and Development).

Rapid population growth puts extra pressure on municipal supply systems (water source and storage capacities).

"A generation ago, many of us had a direct connection to a farm, but
today's generation is disconnected from farms and farming.
We've lost touch with out roots,
in a literal and figurative sense."
-- Carl Hiebert, author of Gift of Wings (1986)

* Photos L to R: soil being removed from top of moraine and moved elsewhere in process of grading a subdivision; Baden farmer's field that has been turned into subdivision since that photo was taken; Wilmot upland woodlot still relatively untouched although the woodlot is not large enough to shelter forest interior breeding species.

* originally posted to Shirt Tails II 08 May 2006 to which
Anonymous said... I say briefly: Best! Useful information. Good job guys.

wet and green*

2007-07-21T11:23:00.000-04:00

Blenheim Township wetland near confluence of Alder Creek with Nith River spring 2006.
Sandamara Images 0615-19

Will this summer be wet and green or dry and brown?

The answer to that question is related to the issue of climate warming and covered in a report
prepared a few years ago: R. Kreutzwiser et al. "Drought Sensitivity of Municipal Water Supply
Systems in Ontario," The Great Lakes Geographer, Vol 9 No. 2, 2003.

According to the researcher, climate warming:

* may increase the frequency of drought, i.e. a prolonged dry spell;
* result in reduced streamflows and groundwater recharge;
* lower Great Lakes water levels;
* alter seasonal water cycle (timing, intensity, duration);
* raise air and water temperatures;
* shorten duration of lake ice cover;
* Increase numbers of extreme storms, extreme precipitation events which affect erosion and
sedimentation
* decrease snow cover.
Drought sensitivity increases for those south-western Ontario communities with these
characteristics:

* reliance on ground water or river source;
* rapid population and/or industrial growth;
* increasing competition for ground water or river water.

The Region of Waterloo currently depends 75% on ground water and 25% on the Grand River
for its municipal water supply. With approximately 5 to 13 wells removed from the supply chain,
water restrictions normally issued during drought conditions or peak demand times have already
been instituted for the second summer in a row. This Region is currently leading the country in
housing starts and the real estate market continues to boom with customer demand for new single
detached homes.

According to the Kreutzwiser study referenced above: "Population growth increases the demand
on water system and lowers the water table. Regions with limited water storage capacity eg.
aquifers relative to demand may be particularly vulnerable to drought. That vulnerability is
increased when storage capacity drops below 60% of annual stream flow. Locations where
groundwater pumping rates considerably exceed recharge rates are especially vulnerable to
droughts. Water quality can also decline as result of reduced recharge."

Moreover, all of the following categories of water users increase the competition for water: golf
courses; sod farms;greenhouses/nurseries; agriculture i.e. crop irrigation; municipal water supply
@ 50%; dewatering & aggregate washing @ 24%. Who will have priority to take water
especially during peak demand periods?

Last spring when gardeners had been asked to carry buckets while other homeowners were
allowed to use a hose to fill their swimming pools, The Record ( editorial of 12 March 05) posed
these two questions:

1. Has [urban] growth outstripped [the regional] water supply?
2. "Should we putting the Waterloo moraine under development pressure when it serves such a
valuable water-recharge system?"

Kreutzwiser in the study cited above issued the following warning: "Urban drought clearly is
exacerbated by inappropriate development and wasteful water use practices." Other researchers
note that drought also decreases the wastewater assimilation capacity of the Grand River.
Observations such as the above led one concerned citizen to issue this call: "stop all urban
development until newly proposed underground aquifer system has been tested, commissioned,
and put into service" (G. Mitchell, Record 24 May 05 & cf Record editorial of 21 May 05
"Region is adding supply only as is necessary."

From a Regional report on demand and supply capacity of the regional water system, the
following numbers to consider: "daily capacity is 218 million litres per day; summer peak
demand between 218 and 238 million litres."

The irony in all of this: we live in the country that has the world's largest reserve of fresh water
supplies. And we can't manage this land's gifts so freely and abundantly given to us?

*A reposting of 09 May 2006 blog on effects of climate change to Shirt Tails II blog:

gone with the wind?

2007-07-21T11:11:00.000-04:00

These photos were chosen to draw attention to the trend that sees the southwestern Ontario countryside losing thousands of acres of prime farmland each year. This issue is the subject of Margaret Walton's report, Agriculture in the Central Ontario Zone, Neptis Foundation 2003.

City of Waterloo Council will be holding a public review of the three controversial proposed developments to replace farmland on Monday 23 July 07, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers. The post "gone with the wind?" deals with the subject of the ongoing loss of Ontario's prime farmland and can be found here:

www.forsythkitchener.blogspot.com

the three r's...research, reading, ans (w)riting...

2007-07-18T17:54:00.001-04:00

Gentle readers, new visitors to this blog, herewith a quick overview of the various blogs I write:

To begin, all of these blogs have their origins in two seminal books that I read during the winter of 2003. The first was an academic study prepared by University of Waterloo that presented the case to have the Grand River designated as a national heritage river. That document approached the entire Grand River watershed as one system and reviewed the watershed's physical form and cultural heritage attributes. That book led directly into my reading of Putnam's seminal text on the physiographic regions of Southern Ontario. The two books led to numerous rambles of exploration throughout the Grand River watershed and to the creation of my first blog, La Grande Riviere to be found at www.grandriver.blogspot.com.

One outcome of those watershed rambles was my personal dismay at the unchecked urban sprawl taking place in the tri-cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge and the need to take action. Thus, when at one City of Waterloo Council meeting, a delegate I think of as our very own Erin Brokovich mentioned that the Owen EIS report contradicted itself, I took up the challenge to obtain a copy and to read and deconstruct this highly technical report. Many of the posts made to www.grandriver.blogspot.com provide summaries and links to the background research I did at that time.

Like a river rushing ever onwards, time moved on and brought with it new acquaintances and new commitments and so the need for a second blog. One of this community's heritage activists proposed a newsletter to focus on the Forsyth demolition issues: my second blog, Shirt Tales, www.forsyth.blogspot.com soon took all of my energies. As well, I set up two other blogs to store notes on other readings of mine. I have plans to collapse those other blogs later this summer and to move the posts to either the Grand River blog or the Shirt Tales blog.

For the most part, the Grand River blog was written for an audience of one-- a well-known and respected delegate to various Councils on regional environmental issues. I continue surprised by the number of visitors to that first blog as it is the Shirt Tales blog that has attracted its devoted following. Hence, most of my posts since summer of 2005 have been made to Shirt Tales. Thus, if you are looking for coverage of Hidden Valley you will find it in Shirt Tales.

Some of this week's blog visitors have been referred here in order to prepare for next week's City of Waterloo Council meeting. Rather daunting to find the Waterloo Moraine related posts? Like flipping through a 1,500 page book without chapter headings or an index? Hence these tips:

Check both blogs for the relevant research in one of two ways:

a) use the search function at top right hand corner of each blog to locate all blogs related to a particular subject by typing in key words such as "Waterloo moraine," "wetlands," "City of Waterloo" and the blogging software will very quickly bring up all posts related to that subject;

and/or

b) use the print preview option in order to call up a section of the archive in order to very quickly scroll through all posts during that time period-- a quick glance at photos and the lead paragraph should be enough to determine if the post is of interest.

For those who have the time, I would suggest the following reports to be extremely useful and worth reading:

1. Region of Waterloo RGMS document, Protecting Significant Moraines in Waterloo Region, available here:
http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/8f9c046037662cd985256af000711418/03D38C261628882E85256D280053291C/$file/Protecting%20Significant%20Moraines.pdf?openelement
2. Ken Ogilvie, Air Water and Soil Quality commissioned by the Neptis Foundation "for consideration by the Central Ontario Smart Growth Panel established by the Government of Ontario. Link here:
http://neptis.org/library/show.cfm?id=47&cat_id=9

In closing, gentle readers, thank you for your quiet support and unstinting encouragement of my blogging efforts. It means a lot.

Elizabeth aka Rambling Rose

boreal treasures; aspen, birch, caribou, diamonds,ducks/geese and tamarack...

2007-06-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

"A letter signed by 1,500 scientists released yesterday in Ottawa [urged] all governments to act to protect the Boreal Forest. The scientists warned that the Boreal Forest – a garland of green in Canada that shields us against global warming – is clearly under serious threat from industrial logging and mining activities. It shields us from global warming by storing more carbon in its soils, forests and wetlands than any other ecosystem on the planet...In 2003, Mr. McGuinty promised to implement a land-use planning regime for the northern third of the province, an area that until now has been off limits to logging. So far he has failed to deliver on this promise, instead approving the massive DeBeers Victor Diamond Mine. The groups are also asking the government to protect significant areas of intact caribou habitat in the commercial forestry zone; a move that also would store large quantities of carbon that otherwise would contribute to global warming." (1)

The Victor Diamond Project is a massive diamond mine being proposed by the DeBeers diamond conglomerate in northeastern Ontario near Attawapiskat on James Bay. This region is part of one of the largest, intact wilderness areas left on earth and currently has no industrial development...The mine site would cover an area of 5,000 hectares. The open pit would be 220 metres deep and 1-2 kilometres wide. The ecological footprint of the mine (the area its operations will impact), however, is much larger. Up to 260,000 hectares -- an area roughly four times the size of the City of Toronto -- will be impacted by dewatering, the pumping of water out of the pit, which is likely to massively change water flows above and below ground throughout the area. There is a good chance that this project will be expanded if more diamonds are discovered in the region***... Environmental impacts include: 100,000 m3 of salty water will be pumped out of the pit each day into the Attawapiskat River. This is equivalent to 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools per day or 14,600 pools per year.2.5 million tonnes of rock would be processed (piled, crushed and dumped) each year.The area of the proposed mine and its associated infrastructure provides critical habitat for woodland caribou, a threatened species. Caribou are extremely sensitive to industrial activity and usually disappear from areas where it occurs. After the mine closes and the site is re-vegetated, studies say that "excellent habitat for moose" (shrubs and young forest) will be created, which also means that the habitat that previously supported caribou (older forest and bogs) will be diminished. This will result in the local extinction of caribou.....Debeers will exploit this non-renewable resource and get out. At the end of the mine's life -- in 15 years or less --- the people of the region will be left dealing with the impacts, such as damaged rivers and fisheries, depleted caribou herds, people trained in skills they can only use if they move away, huge disparities in income, and young people who no longer know the land. (2)

From the De Beers (A Diamond is Forever) website, the following information:

"In June 2005, the Attawapiskat First Nation voted in favour (85.5%) of ratifying the Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA). In August 2005, De Beers received approval by the Federal Minister of the Environment for the Victor Project Comprehensive Study Environmental Assessment (EA).**Construction of the mine began in February 2006, once the necessary permits were granted. The Victor Project will employ approximately 600 people during construction and 375 permanent positions will be created during mining and processing operations. The Victor mine will be the first diamond mine in Ontario and the second in Canada for De Beers." (3)

Notes: ** Table 8-38 Cumulative Effects Assessment-Natural Environment: 1) "Displacement of habitats potentially used by ungulates (mainly for caribou...); noise and other forms of general disturbance could adversely effect caribou" & the DeBeer's conclusion? " Effect not significant"???; 2) re migratory birds, "displacement of habitats (mainly fen and bog) at the Victor site, as a result of facility and infrastructure placement" & the DeBeer's conclusion? "effect not significant"???; ====> Aboriginal people in the James Bay Lowlands traditionally stock their freezers with ducks, geese, moose and caribou taken during the traditional spring and fall hunting seasons. One of Rambling Rose's most memorable meals was served to her by the chef at the Sakabaun ****: an appetizer of Arctic char flown in from Baffin Island followed by caribou stew.

elders also expressed concern that water quality would be negatively impacted and recalled: "In the mid-1950's, with the building of the radar....we're starting to see some of the side-effects in the area. My concern is that some 40 years down the line, when the mine closes, there may be effects....I see the problem left behind from the radar [editor's note: PCB's contaminating the water supply & elsewhere in the EA, removal of PCB contaminated soil from Fort Albany is documented in great detail}...Victor will affect water. Perhaps not right away, but maybe after closure."

Traditional teaching passed on via oral traditions: "My father told me that if you mistreat nature and kill the frog, there will be a day when you will not be able to drink the water. The frogs purify the water."

cf. "the Supreme Court of Canada defines Aboriginal rights as "an integral practice, custom, or tradition of the Aboriginal culture of the Concerned Aboriginal community. This right is defined within the context of the individual community and its historic (pre-contact traditions....Aboriginal rights are inherent.....Aboriginal and treaty rights normally require a land base sufficient to ensure their proper exercise...The taking of lands for other, incompatible purposes diminishes these rights." (pp 8-115-116 of comprehensive EA). (3)...."Potential disruptions to hunting and trapping acitivities could occur within and area of 750 sq km..." (p 8-118)..."Elders....[give high importance] to the maintenance of traditional skills and values. values include the holistic world view that sees people as part of the environment and responsible for its care, the spiritual and economic value placed on hunting, trapping and fishing, and on the use of traditional medicines, language retention, and the socio-political organization that give precedence to family-centre life and sharing, as well as decision-making by consensus." (p 8-118)

*** DeBeers EA indicates that 11 companies are exploring for diamonds in the immediate region adjacent to the Victor Project. Previous research done by RR revealed that diamond exploration is taking place in all lands north of TransCanada Highway 11; the impact of diamond mining in north-eastern Ontario at the James Bay frontier is comparable to the impact of oil and gas extraction in northern BC/Alberta & Yukon/North West Territories. Already the mighty Peace-Athabaska watershed system has been negatively impacted by the Fort McMurray oil tarsands development.

****Sakabaun is Mushkego Cree for traditional roast goose cooked on a spit over an open camp fire during hunting season. Photos and maps: ====> to follow

Sources: (1) CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Protection Society, " Ontarians want forest protection in climate plan," 15 May 07 link:

http://cpaws.org/news/archive/2007/05/ontarians_want_forest_protecti.php
(2) Ontario Wildlands League "What is Victor Diamond Mine?"

http://wildlandsleague.org/display.aspx?pid=231&cid=233
(3) Debeers website

http://www.debeerscanada.com/files_2/mining.html
(4) Link to Environmental Assessment Report referenced in this blog:

http://www.debeerscanada.com/files_2/victor_project/victor_ea-report-2004-section-01.html

for the love of trees

2007-05-30T21:25:00.001-04:00

Gentle reader, are you aware that Algonquin Provincial Park continues to be logged? This, the third largest provincial park in Ontario @ 763,310 ha, has the following primary land uses: 56% managed forest 424,550 ha; 22% other recreation (lakes, wetlands, rock outcrops, areas of concern reserves) 170,310 ha; 11.9% wilderness 90,475 ha; and 5.1% has been set aside as a nature reserve 39,250 ha.

Ontario Parks Board has recommended to the Minister of Natural Resources (1) the following:====> rest of post to be found here:

http://forsythkitchener.blogspot.com/2007/05/for-love-of-trees.html

what's a filibuster?

2006-08-26T10:48:00.000-04:00

Photo of conjunction of Laurel Creek entering the Grand River at Bridgeport. The City of Waterloo has stewardship of the Laurel Creek watershed as this particular watershed has been almost entirely urbanized. The sources of two creeks -- Clair Creek and Monastery Creek-- are about to be paved over with the approval of three highly-contested subdivisions in North West Waterloo -- unless concerned citizens act now to filibuster and to delay.

This critical issue affecting the entire Grand River watershed has prompted an urgent call to action and two blog posts: 1) shall we filibuster? and 2) filibuster how to posted at wwww.forsythkitchener.blogspot.com

& begins "What's a filibuster? -- a political strategy proposed by Waterloo Councillor MarkWhalley in an opinion piece this past month. Source: Mark Whalley, "Waterloo residents should battle moraine plans," The Record 16 Aug 2006. ======> read the rest by visiting the Shirt Tales blog at www.forsythkitchener.blogspot.com

truly Canadian

2006-07-24T14:56:00.000-04:00

Photos copyright to Sandamara Images 1999-2006: L Grand River as seen from Walter Bean Tail at Victoria Street access; R Moose River Harbour looking inland with tide from James Bay in. Two very different river systems: the one flowing through one of the most heavily urbanized areas in Canada whereas the other drains the Northern boreal forest covering most of the Canadian Shield into the muskeg of the James Bay Lowlands.

Ontario's Clean Water Act to protect drinking water sources was tabled last December per The Record 6 Dec 06 and is based on watershed planning. Some highlights from the background as they relate to the Waterloo Moraine within the Grand River watershed:

"The presence of naturally vegetated areas, distributed across the landscape, is one sign of' healthy' ecosystems. In a drinking water context, watersheds with more vegetative cover are better able to keep soil, nutrients, pathogens and contaminants on the landscape and out of groundwater and surface waters. In an ecological context, vegetated systems help maintain the integrity of surface waters. For example, swamps (forested wetlands)in headwater areas, which are often found in zones of groundwater discharge, help reduce sediment loadings and minimize increases in water temperatures. Many cold-water streams, and most brook trout streams, originate in swamps...
"Wetlands, especially small, ephemeral wetlands, can be significant contributors to groundwater in their capacity to capture spring snowmelt and allow percolation into the ground. In this situation, the protection of natural areas, which have important ecological values, can also generate benefits to existing and potential future water supplies. Another example is the restoration of natural areas, especially riparian areas adjacent to streams. The ecological benefits of these restoration efforts include reduced habitatfragmentation and increased viability of wildlife populations (with improved quality of surface waters being the main hydrological benefit)...
" Wetlands gain a degree of protection by various Ontario government policies (e.g.,wetlands component of the Provincial Policy statements). Small, ephemeral wetlands, however, are generally not well protected. The provincial government should continue to strengthen protective instruments for wetland conservation generally, while adding policies that protect the small wetlands that generate groundwater recharge. Indeed, many wetlands are actually a function of groundwater discharge...
"Water quantity and quality problems are more likely to occur in watersheds where there is little natural vegetative cover. Watershed characteristics such as extent (%cover) of naturally vegetated areas, and impervious surfaces can be used as measures of watershed health.**
"Aquitard -The geological formation with a low permeability which transmits water at a very
slow rate. When located above an aquifer it may form a significant protective layer.
"Hydrological cycle -The cyclic circulation of water from the atmosphere to the earth and back through precipitation, runoff, infiltration, groundwater flow and evapotranspiration . Hydrological features include: (a)permanent and intermittent streams, (b)wetlands, (c)kettle lakes and their surface catchment areas, (d)seepage areas and springs, and (e)aquifers and recharge areas.
"Ground water supplies are typically protected by subsurface soils because infiltrating water is filtered and purified as it moves down into the subsurface. Ground water is generally considered to be uncontaminated because the natural processes of filtration and purification are assumed to exist with the exception some vulnerable areas (e.g.,shallow soils)." Copied from 4935e technical report FYI only
Clean Water Act 05 and background technical report can be found at these links: http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/water/spp.htm click on 4935e technical report
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/water/cwa.htm “The region [of Waterloo]has already gone a long ways toward protecting water sources** and is among the leaders when it comes to groundwater protection.” – Peter Krause, Chair GRCA per Burtt,“Guarding the Source,” The Record 7 Dec 05

** Region of Waterloo water protection measures:
a. Well-head protection areas
b. Rural Water Quality Program
c. Business Water Quality Program
d. Aquifer storage plan
as well as planning strategies thus: “The presence of the regional recharge area associated with the Waterloo Moraine was one of the key reasons why [the RGMS] has proposed redirecting growth away from the western edge of the CUA [City Urban Area] through the establishment of a permanent “countryside line.” per Regional report of 15 Apr 03

** Grand watershed health? 19% Grand watershed is forested = 300% increase since beginning of 20C but Environment Canada recommends 30% necessary for healthy watershed; however, highly fragmented with many small forests and too
few linkages between them. All of this a significant improvement but we have to keep working on reforestation and preventing further losses!

deep river

2006-07-10T10:43:00.000-04:00

The Region of Waterloo, which was once entirely dependent on ground water for its water supply, has had increasingly to turn to the Grand River to expand its water supply. Pressures on the system resulted from :
a. the 1998 drought
b. the 2004 contamination (industrial solvent) which shut down 5 wells and reduced available water supplies to 95% of capacity until 2007 when the Greenbrook well fields should be back in service. To accommodate demand for water during summer of 2005, the Region applied water restrictions at the stage 2 water supply emergency/restrictions normally used during drought & then reimposed the same for summer 2006.

Currently the Region of Waterloo is drawing approximately 25% of its water from the Grand River and 75% from groundwater supplies underlying the Waterloo Moraine lying to the west of Waterloo and Kitchener. However, all of the Region's urban areas discharge their treated wastewater to the Grand River. Downstream the City of Brantford is entirely dependenton the Grand River for its municipal water supply.

Looking at the larger picture, the Grand River watershed expected to grow 37% by 2022 ( from 800,000 to 1,096,000). Such rapid growth introduces to the entire watershed the stresses of urbanization(currently 7% of 7,000 sq km is urbanized) and in the rural areas, agricultural growth and intensification ( 93% of 7,000 square km). We can no longer take for granted the river we all share but need to become increasingly aware of the following areas of concern:
a. Water supply based on river and groundwater system;
b. Maintenance of river quality and health;
c. Capacity to receive wastewater; cf. increase in wastewater production, pollution-producing materials, quantity of impermeable land surfaces & stormwater runoff picks up sediment, chemicals (oil, grease, metals and pesticides) and other contaminants (road salt)
d. Protection of groundwater resources and sensitive wildlife habitat.
Source: GRCA 02 Wetlands Policy Appendix, p. 2.

Noted elsewhere:

Our supply of groundwater can be depleted if water is taken out of the ground more quickly than it can become naturally recharged.
Depletion can also occur naturally during periods of extended drought. It takes 20 years for groundwater to flow to the underlying aquifer; however, reaches stormwater management ponds first. Source: Bob Vrabanac, "Water Wars: Past, present, and future issues surrounding our groundwater," Waterloo Chronicle date? within past year but RR failed to note date of article.

Both types of source water (surface and ground) are interconnected. Activities of an upstream community affect the quantity and quality of a downstream community’s water supply.

The water is wide

I cannot cross over

and neither have

I wings to fly

The Record in its focus on the regional water supply system ( Smart City series of articles) provided this information:

Our current system is a split system where only 3 regional governments(Waterloo, Niagara, York) share this responsibility with local municipalities whereas elsewhere in Ontario, 7 regionalgovernments have exclusive control of water and sewer.
The Swain, Watertight report recommended the following improvements: i. Region manage all water, sewer, and stormwater services; ii. Use rates as most effective way to manage demand for water supply; iii. Remove water, sewer, and stormwater services from council control to municipal corporations.
Apparently our split system costs more than one where the regional level of government adminsters the entire system; cf 06 costs: Kitchener $509, Waterloo $447 and Cambridge $424 (figures for an average household; Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr argues against charging more for higher consumption: “A lot of our businesses require large quantities of water. They may end up paying a disproportionate amount.”
build me a boat

that will carry two

and both shall row

my love and I.

Per REGION OF WATERLOO TRANSPORTATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES/Water Services Planning Report: E-05-053/P-05-054

2005 WATER & WASTEWATER MONITORING REPORT: There is currently water servicing capacity available for an additional 36,293 persons in the Region of Waterloo. As well, there is sufficient wastewater treatment
capacity in the Region of Waterloo for an additional 173,300 persons.
The Region's long term water strategy provides for an increase of 13 MIGD (million imperial gallons per day) in system capacity to service an additional 119,000 persons at current per capita consumption rates thus:
5 MIGD capacity Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) system is currently in the final phases of construction on the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant site;
another 5 MIGD expansion is schedule to be completed in 2010.
Also, a groundwater exploration program is projected to add 3 to 5 MIGD of capacity by 2009.
The Aquifer Storage and Recovery( ASR) system consists of a series of specially constructed wells that allow the injection of water treated at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant (WTP) into the ground during periods of low water demand (fall, winter, early spring) and storage of this water in the deep aquifer for recovery during periods of higher water demands (summer). Aquifer storage is the artificial replenishment of water into an aquifer at a rate greatert han would naturally occur. This scheme augments the native groundwater storage and effectively creates underground reservoirs of stored water for later recovery. The Region investigated this technology to take advantage of water supplies available during wet seasons when water demands are lower to augment water supply available during drier seasons and periods of higher water demand.
Rambling Rose noted that this community had already begun water-wise conservation practices per Table 4 Maximum Week Water Use Integrated urban Water Supply System revealed a drop from 240,000,000 gallons per week in 2001 to 190,000,000 in 2004--- and that during a time when the tri-cities were experiencing population growth! Figures from Region 05 water report cited above!
Photos copyright Sandamara Images 2002: One source of Grand River near Corbetton in the Dundalk Highlands; Grand River passing under Freeport Bridges & through City of Kitchener; Grand River as it passes through the town of Grand Valley, ON; second source of Grand River at town of Dundalk, ON in the Dundalk Highlands.
..............
mmm, deep river, lord

I want to cross over into campground

oh don't you want to go

to that gospel feast

that promised land

where all is peace

for deep river, lord
Barbra Streisand - The Water Is Wide / Deep River Lyrics available here:
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Barbra-Streisand/The-Water-Is-Wide-Deep-River.html

water, water everywhere

2006-07-06T15:07:00.000-04:00

This week's focus on the importance of water finds Rambling Rose reviewing two separate reports re the Wideman Road /Waterloo sewer infrastructure project.

For starters, the story as reported by Brian Whitwham, "Sewer Pipe Sparks Anger," The Record 29 Jun 06 provides the following details:

600 metre trench is being dug for sewer and other infrastructure @ cost $ 1,400,000 to service two subdivisions (Laurel Creek Village and proposed Owens); this particular project had been approved by previous Council;
MOE has also approved the permit to remove groundwater to stormwater system; this "de-watering" application allows for the removal from the regional aquifer of 360,000 liters over 14 days = for a total drawdown of 5,040,000 litres;
Whitlam cites expert staff opinion that this removal will require only one day for displaced water to be recharged.

Area resident Kevin Thomasson provided the photos and the following account of this particular construction activity: "Several weeks ago construction crews arrived on the site to begin construction. They closed off the road, removed the asphalt and started digging in the sewers. For the first 200 meters things were fine and although they encountered some water, their trench pumps were able to keep up. However as they progressed down the road into the sand layers of the Waterloo Moraine the water became overwhelming. Their pumps could not keep up, their equipment buried, the sand walls of the trenches collapsed as fast as they could dig them. They dug out more and more, attempted to drain off more and more water, and kept bringing in more pumps. Each day the construction workers were increasingly exasperated and there was no end to the flow of the water that kept filling in their trenches. This isn't a surprise to many of us - we know how close the water table is to the surface in these parts, how there is little till layer to protect the Moraine, and that once one digs into the sand and gravel of the Moraine things become messy quickly...

What resulted next was a plan to drill 171 wells into the Moraine and pump out massive amounts of water to drain the entire water table in this area by an astounding 30 feet! Already they had to build holding ponds and run off controls to try to deal with the massive amounts of water their trench pumps had been trying to keep up with but now they would bring in massive diesel pumps and huge 1 foot diameter pipes to move thousands of gallons of water per hour and drain this area of the Moraine by pumping all the water they could into sewers and eventually into Storm Water Management ponds (which are now flooding due to the amount of water being pumped into them). ..

This area and adjacent wetlands are now being pumped dry around the clock in an attempt to dig the sewer lines a further 15 feet down into the Moraine over the coming weeks - the entire roadway has already been excavated to the depth of 12 feet creating an impressive half kilometre long canyon but they are less than half way to their ultimate depth...

Construction workers have been going to surrounding homes warning residents that their wells may run dry over the coming weeks as the massive pumping continues and they attempt to lower the water table in the area by dozens of feet. Apparently, nearby wetlands will be affected too and you can already see that the wetlands to the north are being drained and dried out as millions of gallons of water has to come from somewhere and in the sand/gravel mix of the Moraine (as construction crews have already found out) the water moves and flows incredibly quickly and a vast area can be impacted."

Apparently "Dewatering for sewer pipe installations is a common practice" according to City of Waterloo staff. According to Kevin, "The plan apparently now is to pump massive amounts of pristine freshwater from our aquifers directly into the sewer system in an attempt to drain the area and dig in their pipes. Not only is this an incredible waste of water it could permanently affect the delicate Moraine water table. "

Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink ;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

Meanwhile, Region of Waterloo residents cheerfully accept the restrictions on water use as a conservation measure. We are all beginning to understand that water demand management will become part of our lifestyles as this Region continues to grow. As the Record advised us, "we might as well get used to restrictions" in its 5 Jul 06 editorial, "Water becomes as valuable as oil."

And every tongue, through utter drought,

Was withered at the root ;

We could not speak, no more than if

We had been choked with soot.

However, conservation measures need to apply to developers as well as local taxpayers. Projects such as the Wideman Road sewer /road construction project need to be reviewed against current realities. If water is as precious as oil now, how can we have one set of rules for residents (waste not) and another set of rules for developers (go right ahead and draw down the aquifer)?

He prayeth well, who loveth well

Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small ;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.

When will we ever learn? Massive flooding followed the wholescale deforestation of the Grand River watershed by early settlers. Urban sprawl continues to remove the till cap from the Waterloo Moraine in spite of warnings of climate warming & the Kyoto Accord. Victorian poet S. T. Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" somehow fits perfectly. Read the entire classic poem here: ttp://etext.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Rime_Ancient_Mariner.html

out of sight, out of mind?

2005-12-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hallman Construction Ltd. is proposing to develop Plan of Subdivision 30T-03203, which is located on Groh Drive at Stauffer Drive. The subject property is 14.6 hectares in size and proposes a total of 118 to 225 single detached and semi detached units, along with a park block, open space blocks and a storm water management block. Approximately 2.4 ha of environmental features, including a portion of Environmentally Sensitive Policy Area 34 Doon South Woods (see photo) located in the northwesterly portion of the plan, is to bededicated to the City as public open space.

Upon reviewing and recommending draft approval to Kitchener City Council, the planner noted that only three objections had been received from adjacent residents. In particular, one respondent noted possible negative impacts on wildlife resulting from the proposed subdivision. To which, the plannercommented thus:

“This is a common concern among residents adjacent to new developments. City staff always ensure that as many natural linkages as possible are maintained in order to permit wildlife to move/travel in their natural environment. It is acknowledged that new development does result in the movement of some animals, but that the animals do adjust to new habitats relatively easily.”

How easily do animals adjust to the suburban environment?

The regional environmental advisory Committee noted that ESPA #34 Doon South Woods provides forest interior habitat to the regionally significant pileated woodpecker.

Let us consider then the pileated woodpecker, this shy secretive bird resembles a crow in size. Black with white neck stripes, conspicuous white wing linings, and prominent red crest. Male has red "mustache," female has black. Note also that
• rated at level 2 conservation priority within Grand River basin: the central basin accounts for 36% of its breeding range;
• an area-sensitive interior forest species susceptible both to habitat fragmentation and the edge effect i.e. Doon South Woods will soon be edged on all sides by subdivisions & the planner recommended a fence and 5 meter buffer as protection;
• breeding range of 1,581 sq km and ranked as conservation priority for the Region of Waterloo by Bird Studies Canada.

The Planning Act through its Provincial Policy Statements assigns responsibility for natural habitats to local municipalities through land use planning and appropriate zoning. Birds such as the pileated woodpecker are important indicators of biodiversity and the health of our environment. A decline in breeding bird populations as noted by Cheskey in the Forested Hills ESPA #19 in north-western Waterloo is a warning that our entire ecosystem is at risk. Much as the canary was used in gold mines to determine whether it was safe for miners to proceed.

Out of sight, out of mind? For now or until it is too late?

Queen Street Urban Revolution faded glories

2005-04-30T21:06:00.001-04:00

Past and present mingle on Queen Street as in the building with the boarded windows that is now home to Second Look Books and the sign for the community garden opposite the Schneider Haus. “Everyone that is coming up here, for the most part, are coming here because there is something here that they are looking for,” says Logan of Second Look Books. The so called revitalization of King Street has been dubbed the Urban Evolution. But saunter south along King’s sassy cross–street Queen and you’ll see the Urban Revolution.

"Queen Street’s audacious chic is reflected in the people who live and work here, choosing to stay connected to the street moxie and flourishing trends. It’s not uncommon any day of the week to see tattooed love boys and girls en route to Wizard Skin Art for custom–designed body art and a double piercing. Adjacent to Wizard Skin Art, Phaze 2, D&D Fashions, and Jay Deesk 2 add a cosmopolitan essence to Queen South — music, fashion and trends with their own ethnicity — an intriguing omni–cultural ingredient with the more venerable multi–media mix. You can grab vintage vinyl at Encore or X–Disc–C, classic books at A Second Look, underground films at Far Out Flicks, hot comics at Now and Then Books, games and miniatures at Nexus and then roll across the street to Northern Thai for lunch. And the distinctive hum of Queen Street is augmented by the goodwill goings on at The Working Centre." Read all about it at : http://www.echoweekly.com/coverstory.php

Queen Street Urban Revolution's Counter-Culture

2005-04-30T21:06:00.000-04:00

Two centuries after the first settler cleared this road, old and new still mingle on Queen Street South. This community garden is directly opposite the Joseph Schneider House and beside the museum where flax is still grown and spun by hand to be knitted into garments in the living history museum.

According to Nancy Finkle, Kitchener Downtown Business Association," The people themselves are really kind of laid back people that really love what they do. That is what they are and who they are — they are here to do what they love,” she enthuses. “I think that Queen Street is an eclectic group and it reminds me of the very early days of Yorkville,” she adds. http://www.echoweekly.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4230&page=6

Queen Street Urban Revolution & the hub of the settler's wheel

2005-04-30T21:05:00.000-04:00

Queen Street South in Kitchener follows the original road between the homestead of the first settlers, Joseph Schneider, and the spot where he allowed the first blacksmith to set up shop-- now the location of the Walper Hotel. It was Joseph Schneider who cut down the first tree in 1807 to build a log cabin. The Joseph Schneider Haus, now a National Historic Site, was built later in 1838. If one looks carefully, one can discern the size of the original trees in the Grand River Valley in the beams in the basement and in the attic roof. Since then, this clearing in the forest has undergone many name changes: Sand Hills, Ebytown, Berlin, and now Kitchener. As well, the settlement begun here in 1807 has expanded outwards to include the earlier settlements in Doon-Blair ca 1800. Doon residents proudly declare to all who will listen, "Kitchener began here" even as folks downtown point to the Schneider Haus to insist," No, it began right here!"

wild places forever

2005-04-22T12:52:00.000-04:00

Photo: High bush cranberry (viburnum opulus) in bloom spring 2004 at Conestoga Lake Conservation Area just north of Glen Allan, Wellesley Township, Region of Waterloo.

" Noting further that the fundamental requirement for the conservation of biological diversity is the in-situ conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance andrecovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings,...

Aware that conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity is of critical importance for meeting the food, health and other needs of the growing world population, for which purpose access to and sharing of both genetic resources and technologies are essential,....

Acknowledging that substantial investments are required to conserve biological diversity and that there is the expectation of a broad range of environmental, economic and social benefits from those investments,

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 5 June 1992 to which Canada is signatory nation and contracting party

Some thoughts from Waiting for the Ark: Endangered Species in the Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/reports/GTA%20Species%20at%20risk%20report.pdf

Slowly, as forests were cleared and other natural habitats were degraded, key elements of southern Ontario's flora and fauna were driven out--some now extinct from the planet. This incremental loss continues today. Woodland by woodland, wetland by wetland, we are losing the wildness and diversity that remain, and with it, the very possibility of experiencing a rich natural world.
If we continue on the current path of incremental, poorly planned development, we will be signing a death warrant for many species, i. e. 180 species at risk in Ontario.
There continue to be incremental losses of habitat while the quality of remaining habitat continues to decline.
Within the Toronto region, the list of species of conservation concern is at 590 species and growing, and many species are no longer found in the urban areas even where there are suitable remnant habitat patches.
The protected areas are often too small, have too little buffer, are unconnected to other natural heritage features and are too overused to sustain biodiversity. Incremental loss of habitat continues based on site-by-site decisions without regard for the larger regional ecosystem context.
No judicial inquiries are called into the incremental loss of greenspace. No overnight massive die-off of animals is likely to occur to shock people into action. Instead, woodlot by woodlot and wetland by wetland, the natural areas of the Greenbelt are incrementally lost to highways, subdivisions, industrial and commercial facilities and shopping malls. back from the brink of extinction.
We do not have to be satisfied with just limiting the damage we do. Rather, we can actually learn from mistakes and bring species back from the brink of extinction.
For Species At Risk, the necessary prerequisite to any protection and recovery effort, of course, is the permanent provision of ample habitat. Will we protect and restore enough woodlands, wetlands, waterways and meadows to allow the natural communities to thrive?

places of the heart

2005-04-19T22:34:00.000-04:00

Photo: Bannister Lake, Dumfries Township, Region of Waterloo is one of those quiet places where the heart can find peace.

This spot will gain further protection when it becomes part of the Blair-Bechtel-Cruickston Environmentally Landscape that will place buffers around green sacred spaces and green corridors to link them. According to Larry Lamb, University of Waterloo ecologist, such an environmentally sensitive landscape definition is very important as "it doesn't just protect the natural areas but the character of the landscape. It's the tapestry of the landscape, the fence rows, stone walls and farms, not just the natural areas that need to be protected."

Under this designation, no residential developments will be allowed to proceed; however, those with a registered lot of record will be allowed a building permit.

one small step towards sustaining biodiversity

2005-04-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

Photo: Teasel beside the Cambridge-Paris Rail Trail at the Glen Morris Trailhead.

Submission to Laurel Creek Headwaters ESL Open House, 20 April 2005

I am forwarding to you a map of the proposed Laurel Creek Headwaters ESL (solid pink line) with an adjusted boundary (dashed pink line) for your consideration. Basically, this revised boundary incorporates a much larger area by including:

a) the headwaters of Monastery Creek;

b) the McNally lands & the Owens property near the confluence of Monastery Creek with Laurel Creek.

The rationale for these inclusions is as follows:

A. Headwaters of Monastery Creek need to be included to ensure the ecological integrity of the remaining good, coldwater reaches of Laurel Creek.

A) I refer you to the Laurel Creek Monitoring Report 2002 and the maps that I have attached with this summation: "Water quality criteria for total phosphorous, total suspended sediment, coliform bacteria, and summer water temperatures , often exceed the LCWMP targets. Since 90% build out has not yet been reached for all of the subdivisions that are subject to monitoring, it will be a number of years (i.e. 3 to 6 years or 2005-2008) before a final analysis on the effectiveness of SWM facilities, buffers, vegetative planting, and similar controls, is possible."

In 1992, the Laurel Creek Watershed Study concluded that " Watershed system is "on edge" with little resiliency to accommodate further development." Nonetheless, the pace of development in the north west corner continued with the result that the Clair Creek tributary is now delivering poor water quality to the downstream watershed. We cannot afford to risk another tributary that clearly contributes to the headwaters of Laurel Creek if we are fully to implement source protection of our water supply.

B) In preparing this map, I have taken into consideration Wilmot Township mapping that indicates location of a good aquifer with limited recharge (yellow) sensitive groundwater areas (Wilmot map 9), environmentally constrained lands (Wilmot map 3) and woodlots. There are long-term advantages beyond source water protection in protecting these lands from urban sprawl. There are so few non-urbanized areas left in the Region of Waterloo where one can find a natural matrix of woodlots, wetlands, an intermittent headwater stream, and various moraine features. I have discussed this rationale in the attached post to my blog, " Currently at Risk in the Region of Waterloo."

B. Monastery Creek and its Tributary need to be included as well so as to not contaminate this reach of Laurel Creek.

Parts of this area are PSW and flood plain lands and should be Constraint 1 lands to protect a) the provincially significant wetland; b) the cold water brown trout fishery; c) the groundwater system.

1. The scoped EIS supports that the northern portion of lands are indeed wetlands or groundwater seepage areas. Whatever land is not protected as PSW should be come under GRCA protection per Conservation Authorities Act 2004: CA's can prohibit development in wetlands with no qualifier on the size or significance of the wetland. It would appear the GRCA has concerns about impacts on water quality and quantity were the Owens development to proceed:

a) GRCA 03 letter: "wetlands ....must be assessed...as they are not just depressions;"

b) GRCA request: "will require both a breeding bird and amphibian survey."

Related to the GRCA concerns in a) above, I am equally puzzled by the description of the headwaters of the tributary of Monastery Creek flowing through the northern plantation cf. Dougan04, p. 11 quotes PEIL1996: "two constructed ponds on the McNally Lands that drain to north to create the tributary to Monastery Creek" & flows northward through PSW to join Monastery Creek in NW corner in a broad marshy area." Elsewhere, these ponds are described as "man-made." Am I to infer that these ponds are an artificial construct and by corollary, that the tributary is equally artificial and expendable? Perhaps the farmer who dug out those ponds took advantage of a natural kettle depression in the moraine topography and knew that the ponds would be filled either through seepage or fed by an underground spring? Are these ponds the result of a perched water table as in the adjacent Forested Hills ESPA? One cannot know until a full subwatershed study has been completed.

2. The Owens development proposal as presented at the City of Waterloo Council meeting of 7 March 2005 amounts to a total developable area on the property of 14.4ha/35.6 acres. Not included are lands that are already within ESPA #19 or those set aside as conservation easements and buffers. In effect, fully 68.4% cannot be developed because of environmental restrictions. The portion being proposed for development, northern and southern plantations as well as the cultural meadow/seepage area appear to have "an ecological function ...not previously identified." In order to determine the validity of that claim, I have done a textual analysis of the various portions of the scoped EIS to compare the findings of PEIL, Dougan Associates, and the Regional EEAC as per attached.

Thus far, the EIS appears incomplete as it has failed to address the following issues:

a) temperature of Monastery Creek;

b) total omission of an amphibian survey;

c) incomplete vegetation survey as pe Dougan;

d) breeding survey completed from adjacent properties but no stations were used on the actual Owens property.

These omissions are troubling. One wonders what further ecological functions could be identified were items a) to d) above to be addressed with full integrity?

3. As well, the scoped EIS fails to address the issues of

a) cumulative ecological impacts on all four ESPAs ( 10, 17, 19, 76) as per ROPP 5.39 per OMB1992: "Recognizes the area west of ESPAs 17 and 19 and east of ESPA's 10 and 76....to be an environmentally sensitive landscape where evaluation of cumulative ecological impacts of urban use on ESPAS 10, 17, 19 and 76 is required prior to the approval of a City of Waterloo District Plan for any of the lands that are the subject of this Policy. In addition to the requirements of Policies 5.38 and 7.15, a comprehensive study assessing the natural habitats, ecological functions and interrelationships within and among the ESPAs 10, 17, 19, and 76 shall be completed prior to the approval of such.

B) the contribution of the Owens lands to the ecological function and biodiversity of this part of our Natural Heritage Network as per Provincial Policy Statement 2005 Policy 2.1.2 which reads as follows: The diversity and connectivity of natural features in an area, and the long-term ecological function and biodiversity of natural heritage systems , should be maintained, restored or, where possible, improved, recognizing linkages between and among natural heritage features and areas, surface water features and ground water features.

We need to include these lands within the proposed Laurel Creek Headwaters ESL in order to ensure and protect the ecological functions and biodiversity of this ESL. Within this context, the Owens lands can serve as linkage and buffer the PSW, ESL, and the designated ESPA's. The width of the property @140 metres closely approximates the ideal buffer widths documented in the Helferty study on Amphibian for the City of Toronto, which I have referenced in the attached analysis of the scoped EIS.

C. The McNally lands owned by the City of Waterloo, although cleared for agriculture, present an excellent opportunity for a co-operative venture with both school boards to establish an arboretum planted with native species. In the process, the City can continue its policy of acquiring environmental lands, increasing the size of its urban forest, and meeting Kyoto Protocol targets by creating a carbon sink. Please see the attached blog post, " The Vanishing Freeport Esker," for the rationale.

Respectfully submitted,

the Rambling Rose

when all the streams run dry?

2005-04-18T15:28:00.000-04:00

Photo: Swan Creek wetland south of Elora in Pilkington Township.

The original wetland area in Ontario south of the Pre-cambrian Shield in 1982 had been reduced by 68%with 933,000 ha remaining. In southwestern Ontario (counties Essex,Kent,Lambton,and others) over 90%of original wetland area had been converted to other uses; in 8 counties, less than 5% of the total area is made up of wetlands. Most remaining wetlands have been degraded in some way. Unfortunately, the greatest amount of wetland and riparian area loss has been in landscapes and watersheds with high land prices that are dominated by intensive agriculture and urban development. The costs of remediating groundwater and aquifer contamination will be significant and therefore inexpensive preventative measures such as protecting and enhancing wetland and riparian areas that provide insurance against groundwater contamination are sensible.

Wetlands are characterized by the presence of standing water, unique soil conditions and vegetation tolerant of standing water.They are a continuum within the landscape and interdependent with other landscape units; thus, alterations to the landscape affect wetland functions.
Current scientific understanding acknowledges that landscape factors (i.e. topography, geology, and landscape configuration) and climate influence wetland functions and diversity. The landscape mediates delivery of water, minerals, nutrients, sediments and biota to wetlands; it is these factors that determine wetland functions.
Wetlands are dynamic, continuously receiving and losing water through interchange with the atmosphere, surface flow and groundwater.
Wetlands and riparian areas provide a "pre-treatment" function for source water arriving at drinking water treatment facilities.This means that broad-scale protection and restoration of wetland and riparian areas will subject our drinking water to two separate purification processes,natural within watershed processes and the final in-pipe treatment at the water treatment plant. Natural system water treatment will also ensure that the effect of in-pipe treatment system failure is minimized. Because source water will be cleaner as a result of wetland and riparian area protection, they serve as a sort of "insurance " against in-pipe treatment failure and the introduction of unexpected pollutants.
Wetlands and riparian areas can also provide a number of other benefits such as flood control, erosion prevention and potential climate change mitigation. The scientific community has for a number of years been indicating that we can expect impacts associated with climate change such as: reduction in groundwater and soil moisture; decline in Great Lakes water levels, stream levels, and wetland areas; decline in water quality and quantity; more intense and shorter duration rainfall events; increased periods of drought. The anticipated impacts of climate change are also expected to increase the variability of source water quality. Wetlands and riparian areas can mitigate this impact.
Wetlands act as kidneys to filter out and remove contaminants from water.

Learn all about the benefits of wetlands by reading:

a) Beyond the Pipe at http://www.ducks.ca/news/pdf/pipefull.pdf

b) Amphibians and their Habitats at
http://www.toronto.ca/moraine/pdf/amphibian_natural_history_ombfinal.pdf

According to the above report, on amphibians (frogs and salamanders):
Amphibians act as indicators of the health of the environment due to their aquatic lifestyles and multiple habitat requirements in order to survive. High amphibian diversity and abundance indicates good habitat quality. All act as indicators of potential problems in whole ecosystem functioning and can act as "the canary in the coal mine" to give us a forewarning of potential environmental problems. Ensuring a functioning diverse ecosystem is essential in order to maintain the checks and balances to maintain resiliency in a changing world. Amphibians are key to wetland, woodland and field system eco functioning. They are also both an indication of and contribute to the maintenance of good water quality.

In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it is perched.--Paul Ehrlich

a poem as lovely as a tree

2005-04-08T19:53:00.000-04:00

Photo: Pine plantation beside the Lions Trail leading to the Elmira Reservoir, Woolwich Township.

I think that I shall never see/ A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest /Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; /A tree that looks to God all day, /And lifts her leafy arms to pray; /A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, /But only God can make a tree. --Joyce Kilmer

Some of the benefits that we derive from the urban forest are:

The removal of air pollutants and dust particles from the air.

Gaseous pollutants like sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and ozone. The pollutants are absorbed through the stomata in the leaves and dissolved in the moisture in the leaf tissue. Particulates (dust) are trapped by the leaf surfaces and bark removing them from the air.

Energy conservation through the evaporation of water from the surface of leaves, shade, and wind reduction.

Moisture from the surface of leaves and from within the plant creates a cooling effect when it is evaporated, much as happens in a refrigerator or air conditioner. The shade provided by trees reduces the amount of energy absorbed by hard surfaces like the soil, sidewalks or buildings. This energy would otherwise be reradiated into the local environment, increasing the discomfort level. Winter winds can cause substantial energy loss from buildings, but strategically planted trees and shrubs can act as windbreaks to lessen these effects.

Reduced storm-water run-off and improved water quality.

The high percentage of hard surfaces in the urban environment reduce the ability of storm water to infiltrate the soil increasing the level of runoff in to storm sewers. Rainwater intercepted by tree crowns can be re-evaporated back in to the air. Depending on the intensity and duration of the storm, the crowns of the urban forest may eventually become saturated and water will begin to fall through to the ground, but with less energy than would be the case if trees were not present. Some water may also flow from the tree crowns along the stem and can infiltrate the soil following roots. The combined effects will reduce erosion, retain water "on the site" to be used by the vegetation, and reduce the washing of pollutants from the hard surfaces in to the storm sewer system.

Noise buffering.

Substantial treed buffers (greater than 30 metres wide) along highways or industrial sites can absorb or mask noise.

Provision of wildlife habitat.

Trees and shrubs along streets, in parks and in our yards provide crucial nesting and perching habitat for resident bird populations as well as for migratory birds passing through the area. Fruit and seed bearing plants can provide food for birds and small mammals..Increased property value. Evidence from Canada and the United States suggests that residential properties with substantial tree cover may sell for between 5% to 25% more than similar properties without trees. Similarly, homes in well-treed communities tend to sell more quickly.

Improved appearance of communities.

A diverse urban forest can break up the hard lines of buildings and other structures, reduce glare from hard surfaces and simply provide a more pleasing "natural' appearance.

Improved psychological well-being by reducing stress.

Research in hospitals has shown that patients in rooms that overlook green space tend to recover more quickly than those with rooms that overlook hard surfaces. Physiological measures recorded as test subjects view photographs of vegetation and park-like settings indicate lower stress levels than those of people viewing photographs depicting harsher urban settings lacking trees and other vegetation.

Source: http://www.grandriver.ca/forestry/ForestPlan_complete.pdf

the vanishing Freeport Esker

2005-04-08T19:51:00.000-04:00

Photo: Both the Freeport Esker and the woodlot on its crown are being cleared for yet another subdivision. The subdivision is to be built on the Grand River floodplain near the Freeport Bridge in the east end of the City of Kitchener. "In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, we understand only what we are taught." (Baba Diauor)

According to the GRCA, " The urban forest is not even fully recognized by many people as part of the greater web of the watershed forest. However, 81% of our population is in urban forests, and therefore it must be emphasized that this is the most important part of the watershed forest from the standpoint of how many in our community benefit from and experience it daily. Urbanization itself, paradoxically perhaps, is perceived as the single greatest threat to the watershed forest, as forests are impaired or liquidated in the path of urban expansion and "suburbanization" of rural areas... Urbanization in the Valley has wiped out considerable areas of remnant forest and jeopardized the integrity of many others. Within the City of Waterloo, for example, there was a 35% loss in woodland cover between 1955 and 1990...In southern Ontario, every activity from hunting, hiking, timber management or clearing for development, has the capacity to severely impact the species that inhabit our remaining woodlands."----http://www.grandriver.ca/forestry/ForestPlan_complete.pdf

In spite of a municipal policy to acquire woodlots, the City of Waterloo continues to condone tree removal.

As The Record noted in its headline of 20 Nov 2004, " Few object as 500 trees (maple, ash, beech, and hickory) come down for a parking lot." In this news report, we learn that RIM (451 Phillip St) has cleared a 1.5 ha woodlot of 500 mature trees for parking lot (Bearinger Road & Albert) located behind large commercial buildings on Philip Street (Tecor 30 Nov 04/Philip Jalsevic). Apparently the City had no objections as the property in question was zoned industrial development and in private ownership. One small strip (15.6m x 129 m.= 2012.4 sq. metres/0.2ha) along Bearinger Road remains. To atone for this crime against the public good, RIM will be planting thousands of new trees to be planted elsewhere.

A week or so later, Professor Larry Lamb denounces this action writing that it is " a misconception ....that planting trees elsewhere would make up the loss." Lamb notes this fragmented forest is studied in ecology curricula as an "example of what not to do. " He is angry that " habitat for nationally, provincially, and regionally significant blue-spotted salamander complex" has now been destroyed . Moreover, RIM provided no opportunities for plant rescue operations.

Footnote: a conservative estimate of $700 per tree cut down x 500 = $350,000 towards another parking lot and more pollution.

Elsewhere in the watershed, McNeil Consumer Healthcare (Guelph, Wellington County) is now leading the way in ensuring that the net impact of its operations is not environmentally negative.

Under the system developed by McNeil, a factory, or any corporation can audit its environmental performance. Carbon emissions, among others, are measured and reduced as much as possible, and then the remaining emissions are offset by local tree planting. In McNeil's case, their calculations have lead them to renew their commitments to plant trees on their own grounds. However, like most corporations, their property isn't big enough to hold all the trees that they would like to plant under this initiative. Students from Rockway Mennonite Highschool and McNeil have a long-standing partnership to plant trees together. This green attitude reflects new business concepts: a) "Carbon credit" trading and accumulation; b) accreditation programs such as ISO 14001.

http://www.grandriver.ca/forestry/ForestPlan_complete.pdf

"A person begins to learn the meaning of life

when they plant a tree

in whose shade they know they will never sit. "

(unknown)

sparkling waters?

2005-04-07T12:22:00.000-04:00

Photo: The Grand River downstream of Bridgeport flows past the Walter Bean Trail (begun 1999) at the Economical Trailhead. The Walter Bean Trail follows the banks of the Grand River for 78 km between West Montrose and Blair with 19 access points. For maps, go to http://www.sju.ca/grt/

... Although sparkling, the waters passing this point have already been degraded; water quality of the Grand River passing through the urban watershed is rated "fair" by the GRCA. Farther downstream after the river has been further degraded by urban activities, water quality only achieves a "poor" rating. One must head upstream of this point to find the sparkling, cool waters that support brown trout that require a healthy river to survive.

The Grand River Tail-water south of the Belwood Dam to Inverhaugh (28 km) is, according to the GRCA, " recognized world wide as an excellent place to seek brown trout. In co-operation with the non-profit group Friends of the Grand River, the GRCA has created access points at these locations: Belwood, Fergus, Elora, and Inverhaugh. Add to that list, one of this area's best kept secrets: Wilson Flats to be accessed from side roads near West Montrose. Another tip passed on by the birds overhead is to head to the waterfall in the Elora Conservation Area for the best fishing. That spot was used by the aboriginal people long before the first settlers arrived here.

As well, a tributary of the Grand, the Conestoga River has been stocked with brown trout in the tail-waters of the Conestoga Dam. Trout Unlimited Canada is helping to create a fishing access point near the bridge over the Conestoga River at Macton.

Farther downstream between Paris and Brantford, there is an 18 km reach of the Grand River described as providing "Exceptional Waters" for enthusiastic fishermen. Cold water entering the river from groundwater sources and Whiteman's Creek make this a good habitat for species such as: smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, rainbow trout, black redhorse (at risk species) and river redhorse (species at risk). The river valley itself is unique. This stretch of the river is bounded by virtually untouched Carolinian forest characterized by plants such as: black walnut, oak, hickory, sassafrass, and sycamore. Three access points are provided: Bean Park, Paris; Brant Conservation Area; Cockshutt Bridge, Brampton. Special fishing regulations apply in the Exceptional Waters Reach. This is a barbless hook, artificial lure and catch and release zone. In areas that are fish sanctuaries, the river is closed for certain periods. For specifics, see www.mnr.gov.on.ca

If you are tempted to bypass these regulations, consider the woes of the subcontractor who endangered brook trout farther north:

A Muskoka contractor who allowed silt into a brook trout spawning tributary of the Muskoka River has been fined $25,000 payable to the Muskoka Heritage Foundation. This violation of the Federal Fisheries Act resulted from inadequate sedimentation control measures during the construction of a new road network of a new subdivision development. The contractor's sediment control measures were inadequate to control runoff during the spring melt and allowed silt to enter the stream. Brook trout are extremely sensitive to silt deposits because they require clean cold water to survive. When excess sediment is deposited, it can destroy the aquatic food needed by fish. It can also harm trout respiration, cause stress and reduce reproduction by smothering deposited fish eggs. The Muskoka Heritage Foundation will use the funds to finance its subwatershed study. ^5 for the brook trout!

of carbon sinks and carbon rights

2005-04-06T14:17:00.000-04:00

Photo: Baseline Road North beside Swan Creek, Nichol Twp. /Wellington County is named for the surveyor Augustus Jones. Jones set out overland from Burlington to draw the baseline to determine the extent of the Haldimand Grant(1784) made to the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy to reward them for their loyalty to the Crown during the American War of Independence. The trees felled by his axemen to draw the straight line of this road into the interior represent some of the first ever cut down in the "wilderness" that confronted the settlers soon to arrive here.

Two centuries later, the Kyoto Protocol is introducing new concepts and phrases that are bound to bring about significant paradigm shifts regarding natural capital:

Carbon sinks refer to forests which help to absorb pollution on a global basis. I consult Wikipedia for a longer explanation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sink to read:
The idea of carbon sinks based on growing trees rests on an understanding of the carbon cycle. Enormous amounts of carbon are naturally stored in trees. As part of the photosynthesis trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it as carbon while oxygen is released back into the atmosphere. Young trees which grow more rapidly absorb a larger amount of carbon dioxide. Older trees grow less rapidly and thus have a lower intake of carbon dioxide...In effect, forests are carbon dioxide stores, and the sink effect exists only when they grow in size: it is thus naturally limited. It seems clear that the use of forests to curb climate change can only be a temporary measure. Even optimistic estimates come to the conclusion that the planting of new forests is not enough to counter-balance the current level of greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon rights are claims on carbon-conserving (carbon-sequestering) assets such as forests and will become tradable and potential investment instruments.

Potential buyers of carbon rights are industrial companies which, in order to meet their environmental obligations under the Kyoto Protocol -- or other regimes to control greenhouse gases-- could trade a purchase of carbon assets in one part of the world for the right to continue polluting in another. According to Mr. Makihara, chairman of the Mitsubishi Corporation, "it is essential to give value to forests and other parts of the environment." As well, the World Bank launched a US$ 100 million Biocarbon Fund at its 2003 meeting.

Will it be possible to create markets for conservation?

South of the border, the answer is yes, indeed:

Northwest Environment Watch reports that already water rights, i.e. a farmer's right to use water, are being traded through the Oregon and Washington Water Trusts.
Ranchers are considering transferable grazing permits.
The non-profit Oregon Climate Trust (1997) uses funds it receives from new power plants forced to offset their greenhouse gas emissions to fund conservation efforts.
Elsewhere rural landowners are selling their development rights to urban developers who want to exceed zoning caps.

Read all about these new trends at http://www.northwestwatch.org/reforms/conservation_markets.asp

how green $ was my valley?

2005-04-02T13:07:00.000-05:00

Where have all the flowers gone?
Originally uploaded by ramblingrose.

As observed by the writers of the Neptis Report, Greenlands in Central Ontario, p. 27:

"Given that the real estate value of Central Ontario's core greenlands is much higher than the money available for their acquisition, consideration should be given to the idea of pooling both the financial resources and the collective expertise within both government and non-governmental organizations."

Keep checking back? As I shall use this photo of last summer's corn fields on the west side of Ottawa Street to compile more " slippery statistics".....

Ducks Unlimited pays rent for $370/ha/yr before we restore it to wetlands. The rental rate is consistent with a purchase price of about $8,600/ha, a reasonable rate for productive agricultural land in south-western Ontario, but well below the rate for most urban or suburban land.

slippery statistics?

2005-04-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

Photo: The large, two storey Rudy-Snyder House fieldstone farmhouse was built by Daniel Rudy in 1847. The builder carved his name and the date of construction on one half of a grindstone and embedded it in the second storey front wall to the right of the door. Built in the plain Georgian style, the house faces south, as do many early Mennonite houses. Colourful granite stones with large corner blocks give the house a pleasant patchwork-quilt appearance. As was the custom, plaster covers the stone work under the front verandah. This house is now surrounded on all sides by the City of Waterloo. http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=972

I am still mulling over a previous question, "Is the City of Waterloo facing an impending housing shortage?"

In a report on growth management roles, Melanie Hare reports: "In the early 1990's, the City of Waterloo....determined that an annual increase of 750 dwelling units per year was sustainable..... While on average, growth in the City has been in line with (its Growth Management Strategy), rates over the past few years have exceeded this target i.e.in the range of 1,050 units per year.

I wonder whether Hare's statistics suggest a +40% increase in number of dwelling units needed by the City of Waterloo?

I go back to a previous post to look at the statistics I worked out to determine the development pressure cf. A below to draw a comparison with Hare's statistics cf. B below.

A. Who Will Save the Wilmot Line? post at http://grandriver.blogspot.com/

One demographic forecast suggests that the City of Waterloo is to undergo a 54.4% population increase of 38, 719 to 109, 900 pop. by 2016 ( projection is based from 1991: 109,900-71, 181 = 38,719 or +54.4%) which will require 18, 979 additional households. A conservative estimate of building permit demand @ 814 units/yr (10 yr ave) shows that the City already has a 23.3 year housing supply until 2014 ( 1991 + 23 years ). If one were to assume an upspike in building permit demand following the passage of the provincial Greenbelt Protection Act, the revised estimate of housing supply @ 1011 units/yr gives the City a housing supply a 18.8 year supply from 1991 levels & good until 2009-- less than 4 years from now. Sources: Region of Waterloo RGMS & City of Waterloo Development Staging Report 2005.

B. Exploring Growth Management Roles in Ontario (2001) . Report prepared for the Ontario Professional Planners Institute by Melanie Hare of Urban Strategies Inc. :
Throughout the 1990's, the City of Waterloo experienced a high level of growth, reaching 9.5% between 1991 and 1996. In 1991, Waterloo had a city population, inclusive of off-student population, of 83,500 and a regional population of 392,000. The projected population for the City in 2016 is 122,200 and the Region is 558,000. Note, the inclusion of an effective student population of 12,319 (83,500-71181).

C. Difference between B and A Scenarios: 122,200 -109,900 = 12, 300 students included in B scenario. This mathematical calculation begs the question: What kind of dwelling unit does each one of these students require? Will any of these students need to live in the north west corner?

I am no further ahead in determining how real is the need for more housing units. If I were to base my growth assumptions on the population forecast presented to the Ontario Professional Planners Institute, I would be looking at larger numbers and a higher rate of growth by 2,016. In effect, if the student population is stripped from both sets of figures in order to determine how many dwelling units (single detached houses or townhomes) will be required, the projected 2016 population figures are the same.

By comparing apples with oranges, a heightened sense of impending shortage can be created and used to justify speeding up the development process. Couple that with provincial legislation under the Planning Act PPPs which requires the City to provide

a) at least a 10 year supply of land designated for new residential development and residential intensification; and

b) at least a 3 year supply of residential units with servicing capacity in draft approval and/or registered phase. Hence, the short-term requirement to 2008 would be 1,050 units x 3 years = 4,150 units. The same Staging of Development Report recommends nine 2005 development proposals of which six! are to take take place in the North West Corner on the Waterloo Moraine and immediately adjacent to ecologically sensitive lands.

Do these statistics and projections justify incursions on this region's natural capital and taking risks with the groundwater sources of its water supply?

Are our local politicians focussing on a short term gain and ignoring future pain?

Warning: cities are growing into the moraines!

2005-03-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

Photo: Baden Hills farmland located in central portion of the Waterloo Moraine, a series of rolling hills filled with sand and gravel.

The Waterloo Moraine extends across most of Kitchener and Waterloo and much of Wilmot Township, extending to the village of Philipsburg in the west, Hawkesville in the north and beyond New Dundee in the south. This moraine is the source of most of the groundwater that flows into the Grand River. During summer dry periods, much of the water in the river comes from these man-made reservoirs, which store water from rain and melting snow.

"Moraines are important, not just for drinking water, but also forests, wetlands and flows to the Grand River. In the very long term, I think (caring for them) is probably one of the most important things we can do from a resource management perspective. When you think about it, that's where the water goes in and comes out and that's all our streams and all of our wetlands and our forests. In the long term, this is basic to the ecosystem. What we have to make sure of is that this whole process of the water getting into the ground and getting into the ground clean continues to happen. If you are polluting it when you put it in, you have not only contaminated that wonderful water supply, but you have contaminated the water that is coming out into streams and rivers," said Lorri Minshall, manager of water resources for Grand River Conservation Authority.

"Almost half of the groundwater recharge occurs on 15 per cent of the land in the (Grand River) watershed and 80 per cent occurs on 30 per cent of the land mass. We always knew it (recharge) varied depending on soil type -- but not to the extent that we discovered."

Groundwater occurs in the tiny spaces between soil particles (silt, sand, and gravel) or in the cracks in bedrock, much like a sponge holds water. The underground areas of soil or rock where substantial quantities of water are found are called "aquifers" and appears at the surface as springs. These aquifers are the source of wells and springs. It is the top of the water in these aquifers that forms the "water table". The origin and composition of aquifers are varied. Many important Canadian aquifers are composed of thick deposits of sands and gravel previously laid down by glacial rivers. Very often groundwater is interconnected with the lakes and rivers.

Groundwater becomes contaminated when people-created substances are dissolved or mixed in waters recharging the aquifer. Examples of this are road salt, petroleum products leaking from underground storage tanks, nitrates from the overuse of chemical fertilizers or manure on farmland, excessive applications of chemical pesticides, leaching of fluids from landfills and dumpsites, and accidental spills. Contamination also results from an overabundance of naturally occurring iron, sulphides, manganese, and substances such as arsenic. Excess iron and manganese are the most common natural contaminants. Another form of contamination results from radioactive decay of uranium in bedrock, which creates the radioactive gas radon. Methane and other gases sometimes cause problems.

"The ecosystem approach recognizes that ecosystems have limits to the amount of stress they can accommodate before the ecosystems are irreversibly degraded or destroyed. With the emphasis on the form and function of the natural environment , it is no longer acceptable, from an ecological as well as an economic perspective, to impair water quality, degrade aquatic/terrestrial habitats, reduce base flows, lower groundwater tables, drain and sewer large areas, or line watercourses with concrete to the point where the integrity of the natural system is lost." - Ed Gazendam, Gus Rungis & Elizabeth Caston, GRCA

Why then are we still allowing development to strip the filter from our groundwater supplies?

The aquifers underlying the moraine lands are currently being mapped cf. http://www.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndm/mines/ims/pub/sfw/sfwpdf/6145-25.pdf

Comment by owner: "There are a lot of things (already built) on the moraine and I guess that's all right. I find it hard to believe that this 30 acres is a recharge area for the whole region." cf. GRCA findings above?

Where have all the flowers gone?

2005-03-27T20:54:00.002-05:00

Photo: 2004 Housing Development between Mannheim and Kitchener west of Trussler Road. The urban edges of the twin cities Kitchener and Waterloo are defined by Trussler Road and The Wilmot Line respectively.

For now, the focus of local environmental activists has been to protect the lands in the north west corner of the City of Waterloo from encroaching development. A look at the larger picture reveals that urban sprawl has been unchecked in the Kitchener portion of the Waterloo Moraine adjacent to one of the Region's main water supply stations on Ottawa Street -- slightly east of the location where these two photos were taken.

The one photo shows Mannheim Village Estates under construction in the summer of 2004 on the west side of Trussler Road; the other photo shows a pocket of agricultural land between the Mannheim subdivision and the City of Kitchener ( east side of Trussler Road; towers are located on Ottawa Street South, city of Kitchener).

Who will save the Wilmot Line?

2005-03-27T19:32:00.000-05:00

Photo: The Wilmot Line, one of the original settlement roads built over 200 years ago, appears on old maps as the only area road stretching straight from Lake Erie to well north of this area. Local environmental activists are working hard to see this road protected under both Heritage and Scenic designations.

This view of the Waterloo Moraine on the eastern side of the Wilmot Line shows the lands about to be developed. Subdivision plans have been filed for:
a) Vista Hills by PEIL @ 50.11 ha includes conveyance of protected buffer to Forested Hills ESPA #19
b) Clair Creek Meadows by Gies Construction @ 45.34ha of which 11.2 ha are within Forested Hills ESPA #19
c) Greyerbiehl by Activa Group@ 32.23 ha of which 4.0 ha are within Forested Hills ESPA #19

The Waterloo Moraine covers 40,000 acres/ 16, 187.4 ha of which a large portion is already urbanised. These three new developments will urbanize a further 127.68 acres/ 51.7 ha of which 15.2 acres or 11.9% intrude on ESPA lands.

Should not the protection of the proposed Laurel Creek Headwaters ESL be planned and implemented before development is undertaken?

However, City of Waterloo staff are recommending consideration of these subdivisions by the City of Waterloo in 2005 in spite of the projections that the City of Waterloo will have sufficient lots until 2011 to meet building permit demands ( based on 10 -year building permit average of 814 units per year X 9.83 year supply = 8,001 residential lot inventory).

Why the hurry?

One demographic forecast suggests that the City of Waterloo is to undergo a 54.4% population increase of 38, 719 by 2016 ( projection is based from 1991: 109,900-71, 181 = 38,719 or +54.4%) which will require 18, 979 additional households.

A conservative estimate of building permit demand @ 814 units/yr (10 yr ave) shows that the City already has a 23.3 year housing supply until 2014 ( 1991 + 23 years ).

If one were to assume an upspike in building permit demand following the passage of the provincial Greenbelt Protection Act, the revised estimate of housing supply @ 1011 units/yr gives the City a housing supply a 18.8 year supply from 1991 levels & good until 2009-- less than 4 years from now.

Is the City of Waterloo facing an impending housing shortage? Does that impending shortage justify incursions on the natural capital of the Region of Waterloo and the associated risks to the sources of its drinking water supply?

the ecological footprint

2005-03-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

The concept of ecological footprints is relatively new, but it is rapidly gaining popularity as a way of both measuring human impacts on the environment and of drawing attention to the demands -- for energy, food, water and waste absorption -- that we place on the finite resources of this planet.

The Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. After answering 15 easy questions you'll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to what other people use and to what is available on this planet.CAUTION: THIS QUIZ MAY SURPRISE YOU, SHOCK YOU, OR MAKE YOU THINK. PLEASE REMAIN CALM...BUT NOT TOO CALM!!
http://www.cielap.org/footprint.html

Worldwide there exist 1.8 biologically productive global hectares per person. The average Canadian ecological footprint is 8.8 hectares per person. My personal ecological footprint measures 7.7 global hectares and requires 3.4 ha for food, 2.2 ha for goods/services, 2 ha for shelter and 0.1ha for mobility (one of the benefits of retirement). I am warned that if everyone lived like me, we would need 4.3 planets.

2005-03-26T13:18:00.000-05:00

Currently at Risk in the Region of Waterloo:

Tableland woodlots that have no policy status(ANSI, ESA, or significant woodlands & includes small isolated woodlot patches scattered throughout a mosaic of agricultural fields.
Unevaluated wetlands cf. any wetland greater than 2 ha meets minimum size criteria for evaluation.
Intermittent headwater streams cf. "Substantially altered by agricultural practice. Because these features drain relatively small areas and thus are not subject to fill and flood line regulations, they are often allowed to be modified or eliminated altogether from development." –Greenlands in Central Ontario, p. 17. Go to : http://www.neptis.org/pdfs/greenlands_nip4.pdf

Significant Woodlands and Significant Wildlife Habitat have consistently ‘fallen through the cracks’ as the PPS assigns full responsibility to identification to the appropriate planning authority. However, although Official Plans recognize these significant heritage features (EIS) , they do not grant any absolute prohibition on development. Recently some OMB decisions have upheld the argument that some loss of greenlands feature or function is acceptable and the OMB has approved development on this basis...The outcome of an EIS is usually the approval of some form of development, with conditions attached as to specifically how and where it can occur in relation to the greenbelt feature. .. Rather than determining whether a proposed undertaking is environmentally acceptable or not, an EIS has increasingly become a tool for determining the type and extent of mitigation required to permit a development to proceed... (Although a specific physical feature is afforded protection from development), its actual function becomes impaired over time. .. The effects of a major change in adjacent land use on a greenlands feature are rarely measured or monitored following construction. –Greenlands in Central Ontario, 9-10.

the urban footprint

2005-03-26T12:24:00.000-05:00

The urban footprint's sprawl across the entire landscape is entirely dependent on the use of the automobile. This pattern of economic growth wastes our land base, diminishes our water quality, our air quality, our sense of community, our natural habitat for plants and animals, and our culture. Not only that, it wastes our time! Consider this statistic: the average American spends approximately 445 hours or the equivalent of 55 eight hour work days in a car annually! How can we consider this time well spent?

Urban sprawl defined: new development that consumes land at a rate faster than that at which the population is growing, i.e. it uses more land per person.

Quality of life is influenced by urban sprawl as demands on the transportation system mount, reliance on the private automobile increases, and commuting consumes more of the day.

While urban sprawl increases the tax base, these financial gains cannot offset the costs of providing new infrastructure and facilities to new communities, as well as the increased maintenance and life cycle costs associated with added stress on older infrastructure and facilities.
In 1998, North America contributed ~26% of the global carbon dioxide emissions. Transportation generated approximately one third of this amount. Canada is the second carbon dioxide emitter in the world, 16 tonnes per capita. We are the top energy users in the world.
There has ben a 31% increase in energy use between 1972 and 1997; and an increase in the number of automobiles and in the kilometres traveled, along with a trend towards heavier, less fuel-efficient vehicles that have more than offset improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency.
Resource efficiency and waste reduction efforts have been negatively affected by a "consumer lifestyle based on the desire for mobility, convenience and product disposability" .
Based on 2000 data, Ontario is the second highest emitter of greenhouse gases in Canada, accounting for 29% of the national total. Ontario could experience anywhere from 3-8E°C increase in the average annual temperature by the latter part of the 21st century.

Www.ottawa.ca/city_services/planningzoning/2020/index_en.shtml

Waterloo moraine glacial erratics, gravel and sand deposits

2005-03-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

Photo: Shirley Avenue industrial basin development exposes glacial erratics and the sand & gravel layers of the Waterloo Moraine in autumn 2004.

"That aggregate extraction and greenlands are conflicting land uses ,at least in the short term, has long been borne out by the way the PPS deals with each. .. The same provincial body that has jurisdiction over the licensing and operation of pits and quarries -the MNR- is also the lead agency in the area of Natural Heritage protection."-- Greenlands in Central Ontario, p. 15

The Neptis Report

2005-03-25T19:02:00.000-05:00

The State of Greenlands Protection in South-Central Ontario (Fraser & Neary, 2004) indicates that only 19% of south-central Ontario's greenlands can be considered fully protected under current municipal and provincial policy. The level of greenbelt protection is strongly influenced by the amount of development pressure.

The Region of Waterloo has the least amount of greenland in the study region, of which only 3.6% is fully protected. Durham Region at 18% has the most fully protected greenlands; County of Wellington has 8.8% fully and 22.2% generally protected; County of Simcoe has 28.6% partially protected.
The Region of Waterloo, a predominantly rural muncipality, has the highest percent of cleared land , i.e. 82.4% of 138,420 ha total area. The principal land use is agricultural taking advantage of the high quality Class 1 and II soils which cover most of the Region.
The Region of Waterloo has only 3.5% of its land base fully protected in the form of PSW's associated with the Grand River and several of its major tributaries.

These statistics are cause for alarm. Pressures to develop the remaining land can only increase as a result of the passage of the Greenbelt Protection Act which limits GTA and Golden Horesehoe development and targets this area in the "outer ring" as one of the places to grow. Current demographic projections for the middle urbanised portion of this watershed suggest there will be an increase of 291,190 persons living in this Region. ( 2003 pop. @ 787,000 +291,190 ===> 1,078,191 by year 2021. ) This rapid urbanisation will come at a cost of an increase in wastewater production and pollution-producing materials. As new subdivisions are built, there will be an increase in thequantity of impermeable land surfaces and tormwater runoff increase.

More details to be found at: http://www.neptis.org/greenlands/

Natural Capital

2005-03-25T18:16:00.000-05:00

" Natural resources should be properly valued to provide a fair return...and to reflect their ecological, social and economic contributions. -- Quoted directly from MNR(Ontario) website, "Operating Philsophy: Resource Stewardship"

Natural capital consists of natural resources, environmental and ecosystem resources, and land. It is capital in the sense that these resources are assets that yield goods and services over time that are essential to the sustained health of our environment, population, and economy. The economic value of these natural areas to society far outweighs any gain from converting them to human uses such as urban development or intensive agriculture. Ignoring the value of natural capital when making decisions about land use has resulted in a relentless incremental degradation or destruction of natural capital leading to outcomes that are very costly to society now or in the future. Left intact the natural capital from the land may generate far more value to society than alternative land uses.

The estimated net value of conserving or restoring natural areas is about $195/ha/yr in the Grand River watershed (based on study of agricultural lands in the watershed) cf. Nancy Oleweiler, Value of Natural Capital in Settled Areas of Canada (Ducks Unlimited, 2002)
Read the entire report here: www.landtrustalliance.bc.ca/docs/The_Value_of_Natural_Capital.pdf

Value per acre of conservation easement (2002 US $):
a) wetland @$1,395/acre/year
b) forested @ $821/acre/year
c) grass/rangeland @ $596/acre/year
Source: World Resources Institute, Value of Conservation Easements cf. http://www.cawthra-bush.org/ follow index to biological: Value of Urban Forests

Currently at Risk in the Region of Waterloo:

Tableland woodlots that have no policy status(ANSI, ESA, or significant woodlands & includes small isolated woodlot patches scattered throughout a mosaic of agricultural fields.
Unevaluated wetlands cf. any wetland greater than 2 ha meets minimum size criteria for evaluation.
Intermittent headwater streams cf. "Substantially altered by agricultural practice. Because these features drain relatively small areas and thus are not subject to fill and flood line regulations, they are often allowed to be modified or eliminated altogether from development." –Greenlands in Central Ontario, p. 17. Go to : http://www.neptis.org/pdfs/greenlands_nip4.pdf

" I think Canadians recognize that our wilderness and natural areas are key elements of our national identity."

-- John Lounds, President , Nature Conservancy of Canada

Does built heritage matter? Yes, Governor's Gaol in Kitchener

2005-03-22T18:19:00.000-05:00

Does built heritage matter? Yes, Governor's Gaol in Kitchener
Originally uploaded by ramblingrose.

Photo: The restored Governor's Residence and Gaol Building on Queen Street, Kitchener.

Does built heritage matter?

2005-03-22T16:46:00.000-05:00

According to Ontario’s Ministry of Culture: “The conservation of cultural heritage resources in land use planning is considered a matter of public interest....In many new developments the wise incorporation of heritage resources can significantly add to the value of the development, both in terms of financial and human njoyment...The support for heritage is clearly reflected in the Planning Act, section 2.d and also reflected in this key policy statement Sec.2.5.1:
" Significant built heritage resources and cultural heritage landscapes will be conserved.”
As well, the legislative framework for heritage conservation in Ontario is addressed through The Ontario Heritage Act(1975). The Ontario Heritage Act is enabling legislation which provides tools for municipalities to use to protect heritage resources, but does not compel them to do so.”
The shortcomings of this particular act were clearly revealed in the case of the historic Sherk barn which was demolished by the developer in clear defiance of the City of Kitchener’s clear intent to preserve this significant structure.
The municipality was helpless to prohibit the demolition of this designated heritage structure because of
1) a weakness in the existing Act which has not undergone revision during the past thirty years. As we have just seen, this Act does little to protect built heritage against adverse impacts by both public and private land development. In fact, this Act, as it is now, sets the stage for further losses of significant heritage buildings throughout the province as the pace of land development picks up and the supply of development lands shrinks.
2) the failure of our elected provincial government to pass Bill 60– An Act to Amend the Ontario Heritage Actspeedily. Improvements in heritage protection were promised in the Liberal campaign literature. Bill 60 was introduced to great applause from all sides of the house last spring; Bill 60 has been ready for third reading and passage since December 2. Ministry officials are running workshops to train municipal heritage planners and members of Municipal Heritage Committees on the contents of Bill 60, and how it will change practice when it becomes law. When she addressed the legislature during Heritage Week this year, The Minister of Culture, the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, described Bill 60 as “the most important changes ever brought to The Ontario Heritage Act.”
In a press release by the McGuinty government made nine months ago, we were promised “comprehensive amendments to bring Ontario's heritage legislation in line with leading jurisdictions in Canada and around the world.” When and if passed, the proposed amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act will read as follows:
1. Municipal councils are given power to prohibit the demolition of buildings that have been designated under Part IV....and the demolition of buildings designated under Part V(Heritage Conservation Districts). Currently the Act merely allows Councils to delay demolition for 180 days. (Sec.34.1,2,3)
2. The council’s decision may be appealed to the Conservation Review Board. (Sec. 34.4, 5, 6)
A provision dealing with financial assistance for owners of heritage property is also included. (Sec. 39.1)
Thus far, the final third reading of the bill has been stalled and delayed. In February 2005, the House Leader Dwight Duncan promised, “ the Ontario Legislature will resume sitting sometime between February 15 and March 9, 2005, during which time our government expects to move forward with third reading of Bill 60, and hope it will pass with the support of all parties.” Will this elected government deliver on its promise “ to protect, rehabilitate and showcase our unique and irreplaceable cultural heritage” when it resumes sitting on 29th March 2005? Or will Premier McGuinty let Bill 60 die on the order papers?
Will we hold empty promises in our hands even as we lose more of our priceless built heritage?
Does our built heritage matter?

If your answer is yes, copy and e-mail this post to the following elected representatives who have promised much but
have failed to deliver:

1. The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario: dmcguinty.mpp@liberal.ola.org ; dalton.mcguinty@premier.gov.on.ca

2. Hon. Dwight Duncan, Government House Leader: dduncan.mpp@liberal.ola.org

3. Hon. Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Culture: mmeilleur.mpp@liberal.ola.org

4. Your MPP: Use this link to find your MPP's e-mail address:
http://olaap.ontla.on.ca/mpp/daCurRdg.do?locale=en&ord=RDG_NAME5

5. Your local newspaper

& in the subject line: No more empty promises re Bill 60 followed by stalls and delays

followed by this text:

I urge you, Honourable Premier, to move Bill 60 forward as fast as possible to save our priceless built heritage. The time has come to “ leave the inspiring statements behind and take meaningful action with respect to all aspects of our built heritage. This Province wasn't built by inspiring statements. It was built by skilled tradesmen and new immigrants who made the best out of where they found themselves. The least we can do is preserve their work for the enjoyment of future generations.”--Sheena Sharp, Architect

Demolition of bank barn on Historic Ridge

2005-03-22T12:17:00.000-05:00

Photo: "History is vanishing before our eyes" -- Vernon Sherk, descendant of pioneer Joseph Schoerg, December 2004. Joseph Schoerg, Jr. built this barn ca 1832 on Kitchener's Historic Ridge overlooking the Grand River. In spite of City of Kitchener's designation -- or perhaps truly "in spite"?-- of this building's historical heritage value, the developer moved promptly to have the barn demolished to make way for six estate lots.

A Tale of Two Josephs?

2005-03-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

The answer to that question sums up why I feel it is important on a municipal, regional, provincial, and national level to preserve the Sherk homestead. Please indulge me as I review some of the essential history regarding the properties in dispute?

After the American Revolutionary War determined the boundaries between British North America and the United States of America, the British government dispatched Governor Simcoe to be in charge of what would become Upper Canada. His first priorities were:
1) to honour the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy for their loyalty to the Crown in that war;
2) to build a military road to move troops to protect this country's boundaries against a possible U. S. invasion; and
3) to promote settlement of the area lying west of York (Toronto) to secure the lands in question.

The Six Nations whose leader was Joseph Brant were given the Haldimand Grant that comprised the reaches of the Grand River from its source to its mouth. Work began promptly on the Governor's Road known locally as Dundas Street (Highway 2 from Kingston via Toronto and London to Windsor). Simcoe actively promoted settlement among the United Empire Loyalists and others who wished to avoid future military conflicts. For his part, Joseph Brant offered up lands to new settlers because he wished to secure an annual income for his peoples. The first Mennonite settlers in Waterloo Region, Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Betzner, came to scout these lands and made contact with Richard Beasley who had purchased one tract of land from Joseph Brant. They arrived circa 1801 to establish the first non-aboriginal settlement on the Historic Ridge. I believe Joseph Schneider stayed with the Betzner/Schoerg families when he immigrated to this region in 1807 and before building on his lot where another Regional museum, the Joseph Schneider Haus, is located today.

The Historic Ridge settlement is the point of landfall for the first non-aboriginal settlement in the interior of south-western Ontario. Future settlements radiated outwards like spokes of a wheel from this initial hub of contact. In our nation's history, this settlement ranks in importance with the fur-trading posts established in Fort Langley, B. C., Moose Factory Island, Ontario, Champlain's settlement (the Habitation) in Quebec City, and the restored fort of St. Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.

These homesteads are unique. First, the homesteads are a visible reminder of the agricultural roots of this Region. Second, both the Pioneer Cemetery on the Ridge and the Sherk farmhouse bear witness to the initial mutually supportive and peaceful relationship between the incoming Mennonite settlers and the aboriginal peoples. In the Pioneer Tower Cemetery, there are seven limestone grave markers for, I assume, members of the Mississauga Nation. These same aboriginal people were frequent guests in the basement of the Schoerg farmhouse. This story of settlement and peaceful co-existence between two very distinct cultures needs to be told and remembered as part of the larger Canadian mosaic/identity!

If we were to lose the Sherk homestead buildings, then we will have lost priceless artifacts dating to that first stage of non-aboriginal settlement (1800-1830). We will have only two heritage buildings commemorating those decades: 1) The Royal Chapel of the Mohawks in Brantford; and 2) Joseph Brant's house, a museum and heritage building preserved by the City of Burlington. I find it interesting that the Burlington Brant house and the Sherk bank barn were built at approximately the same time. Locally we do have the J. Steckle Heritage Homestead living history museum. However, the Steckle property dates to a later stage in the settlement process. The properties on the Historic Ridge and hopefully part of Lower Doon, the site of the first Scottish settlement in the Region, and Homer Watson Park will soon be recognized by the Region as a Culturally Significant Landscape.

How appropriate it would be to restore the Swiss bank barn and use it as a Regional Heritage Museum. Apparently there are some 40,000 artifacts relating to our history that can be put on display. In the early twentieth century, an amateur archaeologist had apparently donated a treasure trove of artifacts dating to the time when the aboriginal people first roamed this watershed. One can only hope!

correction re where town and country meet

2005-03-07T13:06:00.000-05:00

S. S. e-mails to correct me on the disputed Owen property as follows:

This 20 acres (the clear cut will actually be about 27.63 acres)... has not been re-zoned. It is still zoned agricultural and has never been given approval for development. The developers think they can develop this land with total disregard for the environmental impact. It is true that in 1993 the Ontario Municipal Board ruling allowed for the movement of the Urban boundary in the NW end of Waterloo. However, it is also clearly stated in the ruling that any development must be such that it will "preserve and enhance natural features and ecological functions." This ruling is law! Clear cutting 28 acres and building directly on water re-charge does not maintain the ecological function.

where town and country meet

2005-03-05T08:56:00.000-05:00

There's a point on the map of the Region of Waterloo that defines where town and country meet locally. It is the point where the four W's intersect that defines where town and country meet cf. http://www.execulink.com/~frind/Vista-Hills/P-03-036-Figure1.jpg.

Do print out the map as it is most useful. Begin reading it on the right hand where the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo dominate and then move counter-clockwise to see what remains of the countryside: the townships of Woolwich, Wellesley, and Wilmot. Defining the western edge of the cities, you will find the Wilmot Line, the "hard edge" in Region of Waterloo planning documents that is to define where urban development is to end and countryside begins. Follow Wilmot Line to the northwest and just before it bends to become Kessler Road, make a left turn on to Cedar Grove Road ever so gently ... for if you hurry, you will frighten the wild turkeys that consider this their home. For now. You won't travel far along this road until you are stopped by a sign that tells you, "Do not go farther. This IS my land and not your land." You have arrived at the entrance to Sunfish Lake and Paradise in this region.

Pause now to study the map again and to note all the green sections that are clustered around this point. Before you and to your west lie Sunfish Lake ESPA and Schneider Woods ESPA; behind you and to the east lie Schaeffer Woods and the Headwaters of Laurel Creek wetlands; and to the southeast of the Wilmot Line, the Forested Hills ESPA. Already the City of Waterloo has pointed its orange-tipped finger to encroach on the countryside via the Columbia Street extension to service future industrial and residential developments that are to take place on Wilmot Line.

We keep coming back to the Wilmot Line-- that straight hard line of a road which has always directed settlement in the back country. This was the line approved by the OMB in 1996 as the limit on urban expansion. This is the line which now divides the local population into, "This land is my land; it is not your land to do with as you wish."

That's the problem with lines drawn on a map as they are much too straight and do not respect the contours of the land or the wishes of the waters which flow through it. The rugged, steep inclines of the Waterloo Moraine lands and the pockets of wetlands to be found here are really neither town nor country. These green splashes on the map in front of you are something else entirely which refuses to be bounded by a line drawn by a surveyor two centuries ago. Until this century arrived this land was considered too marginal for agricultural use or too far out in the country for residential development. This was land that was good only "for the birds!"

And birds you will find here. In the woods of the lowlands (Tamarack, Hemlock, Cedar, Balsam Fir, Yellow Birch and Silver Maple) are to be found birds ---lots of them: red-breasted nuthatch, golden-crowned kinglet, blue-winged warbler, Nashville warbler, pine warbler,
pileated woodpecker, purple finch, and Veery warbler. In the sky overhead, broad-winged hawk, red shouldered, and Coopers hawks circle. To the south in the Forested Hills, the provincially endangered species Acadian Flycatcher & Hooded Warbler make their home.

It might be helpful to study another map that is neither town nor country but one that is entirely"for the birds" cf. http://www.execulink.com/~frind/Vista-Hills/ROPP-Map-1.ppt.

This map which features the significant remaining natural areas shows clearly the interconnected nature of the remaining "undeveloped" natural habitats and the scope of the proposed Laurel Creek Headwaters ESL ( Environmentally Sensitive Landscape). Already tracts of land have been designated as ESPA's worthy of protection: #7 Bamberg Swamp & Bog Lake; #10 Sunfish Lake (a rare mecromitic lake); #17 Schaefer's Woods; #18 Laurel Creek Conservation Area#19 Forested Hills ; #76 Schneider Woods; #80 Laurel Creek Forest. Once the provincial legislation has been enacted to protect the source waters of Laurel Creek, this environmentally sensitive landscape will comprise ca 5, 500 acres.

However, these historical environmental designations failed to protect individual parcels of land that connect various natural habitats. Specifically, the Owens Tree plantations and the City of Waterloo-owned Mc Nally lands fronting on Wideman Road connecting the Wilmot Line to Erbsville Road. As they are located firmly on the town side of the Wilmot Line, they are lands that developers can strip bare and fill with new houses per the 1996 OMB line dividing town from country. There will be lots of buyers as by 2,016 there has been projected a 54% population increase for this area requiring an additional 18,979 households/homes. No wonder the developers believe these are their lands, not our lands, and definitely not to be set aside for the birds!

But there's a catch in all of this that affects you, me, and even the purchasers of those shiny new houses that will catch up with us sooner or later. It's what the eye cannot see that remains hidden under the land. The lands of this sub-watershed are part of the Waterloo Moraine lands and part of the groundwater recharge area that supplies 80% of the drinking water to the entire region. These swampy, forested lands that no one wanted lie over shallow but deep aquifers that extend under the surveyor's lines on the map as far east as the Greenbook well field which supplies even the City of Kitchener with its drinking water cf. map http://www.execulink.com/~frind/Vista-Hills/Fig-1.doc.

The answer to the question, "Whose land is this?' becomes abundantly clear: this is OUR land as in the web of life we are all interconnected. This is neither your land, nor their land, but land we all share with the birds in the forests who drink from the ponds above ground which supply the wells underground which we tap for water to live and breathe. It does not matter that you live in the country or that I live in the city. You, I, and the birds have this in common: we need fresh water to drink to survive and thrive.

There will be a City of Waterloo Council meeting on Monday 7 March to hear the various viewpoints regarding the future of the Owen & McNally properties. On the west green side of the line drawn on the map, there will be the environmentalists opposing the developers on the east side. Will it be possible that these two groups can reach across the line divides them to agree to conserve the existing green, wet spaces so that you and I as well as they will have fresh water to drink and fresh air to breathe?

Do we have the vision and the good will to erase the hard edges of the lines on the map and to replace them with the natural, curving contours of the land as it was before settlement began here?

thinking green

2005-03-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

2005 finds all of Ontario thinking green and addressing environmental issues.

At the provincial level, Bill 135 Greenbelt Protection Act is slated for passage by March 9th. The Greenbelt of roughly is to extend from Oshawa to Niagara Falls and to include Oak Ridges Moraine/Niagara Escarpment surrounding GTA @ roughly 1,000,000 acres. As well the province will legislate Bill 136 Places to Grow to direct development and protect natural areas as +4,000,000 pop increase by 2035 is expected. Located in the outer ring of the Greenbelt, the Region of Waterloo esp cities of Kitchener-Waterloo are targeted as areas for significant new growth at a rate of 28% faster than the Region was expecting to grow. Waterloo Region is expected to grow to 720,000 residents by 2031 from approx. 500,000 pop. currently.
Also at the provincial level, MNR Room to Grow framework creates
1) 15,000 ha of protected areas in northwestern Ontario to protect and manage our forest resources;
2) Oakville Land Assembly ( bounded by Dundas Street, Hwy 407, Bronte Road and Sixteen Mile Creek Valley) @750 acres of land to create natural corridors and linkages to protect wildlife habitat and significant vegetation . As well, issues regarding the Paris-Galt and Waterloo Moraines will be affected by upcoming source protection legislation.

At the local municipal level, the Waterloo Regional Greenlands Strategy envisions protecting a further 100,000 acres from Hamilton through Cambridge to Elmira (continuous 75 km greenbelt to be included in Bill 135) to include Galt-Paris and Waterloo Moraines with associated wetlands, forests, ESPA’s, and large agricultural tracts. Regional politicians have lobbied that this greenbelt be included within the Greenbelt Protection Act/Bill 135. The regional Greenlands Strategy has 1. environmentally sensitive landscapes(Laurel Creek Headwaters/Cruickston Blair) ;2. Valleylands; 3. Moraines; 4. Significant woodlands (with Ontario Nature/ FON). In the short term, the Region proposes a)designation of newly identified ESPA’s;
b)mapping and designation of the Grand River corridor.

GRCA to map water courses and designate hazard lands.
ON Nature/FON Greenways and Waterways 2006 (75th Annual General Meeting) to be hosted by KWFN.
Carolinian Canada has presented a report on "Islands of Green" as part of the "Big Picture" to be found at http://www.carolinian.org/ConservationPrograms_greening_science.htm

With all these thoughts of green, can spring be far in coming? I learn two new terms: greenfield development is new development of previously agricultural zoned lands whereas brownfield development is adaptive re-use development of abandoned industrial sites.

public good versus private gain?

2005-02-26T10:35:00.000-05:00

The story of the demolition of the oldest barn in the Grand River watershed has been covered by the local media adequately. The latest report advertised "heritage lumber" for sale shortly. Was this just another barn? Not really. This particular barn was part and parcel of the first inland settlement in southwestern Ontario (ca 1800) which historically ranks with the Habitation at Quebec (1608) and the establishment of the Hudson Bay Co fur trading post at Moose Factory Island in the mid-seventeenth century as key events in the history of the making of Canada. The homestead house that was part of that initial agricultural settlement has attracted a buyer; however, the barn which should have remained as an integral part of the homesteading story will soon be subdivided into four estate lots commanding the best view in the entire watershed of the meandering Grand River. The developer's argument was that the value of the barn was in the land and the timber not in its heritage values. A rough estimate of the market value of estate homes built in that area would suggest an approximate value of $8,000,000 in real estate development and associated increase in the assessment tax base of the local municipality. No figures are available as to the market value of the lumber now available for sale. Lost forever to this community are its contribution to the agricultural settlement process of Ontario's history as well as public access to the enduring natural heritage of the Grand River and the floodplain lands and ridges surrounding it where this barn once stood. Even as the pressures of development at any cost have trumped built heritage values, individual private gain has once more trumped out the greater public good. In olden times, the prophet warned that "without a vision, the people will perish."

La Grande Riviere

2005-02-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

This blog is devoted to recording various rambles throughout the Grand River watershed, known in early maps of Canada as la Grande Riviere or the River Ouse.

﻿La Grande Riviere

undervalued green assets?

redirect to main blog

soil basics*

wet and green*

gone with the wind?

the three r's...research, reading, ans (w)riting...

boreal treasures; aspen, birch, caribou, diamonds,ducks/geese and tamarack...

for the love of trees

what's a filibuster?

truly Canadian

deep river

water, water everywhere

out of sight, out of mind?

Queen Street Urban Revolution faded glories

Queen Street Urban Revolution's Counter-Culture

Queen Street Urban Revolution & the hub of the settler's wheel

wild places forever

places of the heart

one small step towards sustaining biodiversity

when all the streams run dry?

a poem as lovely as a tree

the vanishing Freeport Esker

sparkling waters?

of carbon sinks and carbon rights

how green $ was my valley?

slippery statistics?

Warning: cities are growing into the moraines!

Where have all the flowers gone?

Who will save the Wilmot Line?

the ecological footprint

the urban footprint

Waterloo moraine glacial erratics, gravel and sand deposits

The Neptis Report

Natural Capital

Does built heritage matter? Yes, Governor's Gaol in Kitchener

Does built heritage matter?

Demolition of bank barn on Historic Ridge

A Tale of Two Josephs?

correction re where town and country meet

where town and country meet

thinking green

public good versus private gain?

La Grande Riviere

La Grande Riviere