http://ilercampbell.disqus.com/enTue, 18 Oct 2011 19:46:09 -0000http://www.ilercampbell.com/blog/2011/10/the-canada-not-for-profit-corporations-act-in-as-of-october-17-2011/#comment-338633380<p>Great photo, Ted!</p>JoeTue, 18 Oct 2011 19:46:09 -0000http://www.ilercampbell.com/blog/2010/05/ten-years-after-the-walkerton-tragedy/#comment-214446954<p>Hello Paula, </p> <p>Regarding the right of municipalities to protect waters so they are potable - we are in rural Ottawa, and in the Fall of 2009 we studied a field adjacent to the village of Vernon where biosolids were to be spread. We discovered two abandoned wells that would give direct access to the aquifer for sewage pollutants; this resulted in the area of the original site application being reduced by half. We took readings in the field boundary ditch just before it entered the South Castor River. Before spreading and shortly after, the readings were less then 10 e-coli per 100 ml, but following a heavy rain the reading jumped to 990 e-coli. We also discovered the tile drains under the field were not flowing and obviously blocked, which will allow the rising water table to leach sewage contaminants into the underlying aquifer. And we took a picture of flood debris from the previous Spring snow melt flood lodged in tree branches a foot above the surface of the sewaged field. Both the City and MOE knew we were watching, and their inspectors did their best to ensure the MOE/OMAFRA spreading guidelines/regulations were followed. So the problems we uncovered, i.e. 2 unknown abandoned wells, blocked tile drains, 990 e-coli per 100 ml field run-off into the South Castor River, and the field being on a flood plain that is underwater in Spring run-off allowing the 10% of sewage remaining on the surface after disking to wash into the river, are all evidence the Ontario MOE spreading guidelines are inadequate to protect both our surface waters and the underlying aquifers. Surely such evidence is sufficient reason for municipalities to act to stop sewage spreading, particularly when those engaged in the spreading (government, industry, and farmers) have not and will not test for sewage run-off after heavy rains and in flood conditions, and cannot back up their claim that the Guidelines they rely on prevent such contamination. We intend to present our evidence to the CCME consultation now underway on sewage biosolids spreading, and ask for a stop to this practice in all provinces of Canada. </p> <p>Jim Poushinsky,<br>Chair, Ottawa Citizens Against Pollution by Sewage<br>jpoushinsky@xplornet.com<br>tel. 613-821-2409</p>Jim PoushinskyFri, 24 Dec 2010 20:41:44 -0000