Drinking Water Open Houses are fast approaching in these three communities. You will find out about recent local groundwater studies which show:
· Where Carp, Kemptville and Merrickville’s municipal drinking water comes from;
· Where it might be vulnerable to contamination; and
· What types of land use activities could pose a risk of contamination if located in these vulnerable areas.
Open houses are being co-hosted by the municipality and the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Region. Open Houses run from 6 pm to 9 pm (formal presentation at 7pm). Your comments on these studies are most welcome and will be accepted until August 10, 2009.
· Carp Open House: June 8, Carp Fairgrounds, 3790 Carp Road
· Merrickville Open House: June 10, Merrickville Community Centre, 106 Read Street
· Kemptville Open House: June 11, North Grenville Municipal Centre, 285 County Road 44
These technical studies were done under the Clean Water Act and show us where extra care needs to be taken to protect local drinking water sources (lakes, rivers, underground aquifers). The reports will be used by the Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Committee to draft land use policies to address potential threats. The Committee must develop a Source Protection Plan by 2012.
In the coming months open houses will be held in Almonte, Carleton Place, Munster, Perth, Richmond, Smiths Falls, urban Ottawa and Westport to present the study results for their municipal drinking water systems.
There are 13 municipal drinking water systems in the Mississippi-Rideau area —seven draw water from underground aquifers using wells (including Carp, Kemptville and Merrickville) and five take water from local rivers (including Perth and Carleton Place). These systems treat and distribute potable drinking water to people living in those towns and villages.
For more information visit www.mrsourcewater.ca or contact Sommer Casgrain-Robertson.