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Meetings are open to the public so everyone is welcome to attend!
DATE: Thursday, October 1, 2009
TIME: 1pm – Meeting Start
LOCATION: Rideau Valley Conservation Authority Office
3889 Rideau Valley Drive, Manotick (corner of Prince of Wales and Rideau Valley Drive)ROAD CLOSED Rideau Valley Drive is under construction (no southbound traffic is allowed). From Ottawa, please continue south on Prince of Wales (through the intersection), turn left onto Barnsdale and go to the end, turn left onto Rideau Valley Drive and watch for the right hand turn into the RVCA (3889 Rideau Valley Drive / Beryl Gaffney Park entrance).
AGENDA: You can find the complete Agenda package and past meeting minutes at www.mrsourcewater.ca (look under Source Protection Committee – Meetings)
Main agenda topics are:
· Walkerton – The Cost of Getting It Wrong: Understanding the Consequences of Failing to Protect Drinking Water from Source to Tap (Presentation by Bruce Davidson)
o Bruce Davidson is co-founder and spokesperson for The Concerned Walkerton Citizens, a group that was formed in response to the Walkerton water tragedy and gained full status in the Walkerton Inquiry. Mr. Davidson also sits on the Saugeen, Grey Sauble, Northern Bruce Peninsula Source Protection Committee, the Brockton Environmental Advisory Committee, the Walkerton-Hanover Landfill Committee, the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) Board of Directors, and is a member of the Water Guardians Network.
o Mr. Davidson’s hour long presentation will illustrate the Walkerton water tragedy and its consequences from the point of view of its affected citizens, providing an example of the devastation that can occur when we collectively fail to protect our drinking water. The presentation will cover:
§ Brief history of Walkerton as an average rural town
§ Unfolding of the tragedy: illness strikes the community, schools close, hospital full, businesses devastated, many children sent to safer communities, media saturation of the community
§ The systemic breakdown of Walkerton’s water system
§ Steps taken by the Province of Ontario to prevent reoccurrence
§ Life without potable water, economic and social impacts, and health consequences
§ Steps taken locally to restore Walkerton’s drinking water: new water treatment management team, source protection assessment of remaining wells, public involvement in water management, establishment of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre, commitment to transparency and accountability
· Source Protection Plan Discussion Paper – Comments for the Province
o The Province posted a discussion paper this summer outlining proposed requirements for the content and preparation of source protection plans. The Committee has reviewed this discussion paper and will be finalizing their comments to submit to the Province providing feedback on what the province has proposed.
Individuals wishing to speak to an item on the agenda are asked to contact Sommer Casgrain-Robertson prior to the meeting: 613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 ext 1147 or sommer.robertson@mrsourcewater.ca
NEXT MEETING: November 5, 2009
· 1pm, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority office, 3889 Rideau Valley Drive, Manotick
The Mississippi-Rideau Source Protection Committee is a 16 member multi-stakeholder committee overseeing the development of Source Protection Plans in the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds. These plans are being developed under Ontario’s Clean Water Act, 2006. The Clean Water Act is focused on protecting sources of municipal drinking water from becoming contaminated or overused.