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EMC News – Several Bay Road residents plan to be using bottled water for their Christmas meal this December as their water quality concerns following the development of a solar farm continue.
“I’m really looking forward to bathing my Christmas turkey in bottles of water,” said Susan Leslie, one of several Bay Road residents who have been impacted by the solar farm development nearby.
Currently, work to develop two solar farms with 168,000 solar panels is underway. According to the ministry report, when operating at its ultimate capacity, the site is expected to generate 10 megawatts of power that will be sold to the Ontario Power Authority. In order to install these panels, metal posts had to be drilled into the ground. It is estimated that about 7,200 holes were drilled at each of the two sites. It is this work that residents feel caused the disturbance to their water wells.
It was September when some residents noticed their water was dirty to the point of being unusable.
“It’s like mud,” commented Gary Edwards, Bay Road resident.
Residents contacted the Ministry of Environment and a water test was done late in September. At this time HB White Canada Corporation who is working at the site undertook their own water tests on Oct. 1 and 15. According to the Ministry report dated Nov. 17, a combination of factors is expected to be causing the high levels of colour in the water. The report goes on to describe the area as “hydrogeologically sensitive” due to low soil coverage. It is for this reason that local residents wonder why water and soil tests weren’t done by the ministry before work on the site began.
“It’s more important to test before hand to ensure there’s a baseline of knowledge,” said Sheldon Laidman, manager of development services at the township.
Michel Finn, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment said all green projects must conduct studies showing they can operate safely and without environmental impact.
“They (South Elmsley Solar Project) would have had to go through all these steps,” Finn said.
Rideau Lakes Township has been able to retain some control over this project through the site planning process, since the South Elmsley Solar Project was submitted prior to the passing of the Green Energy Act. This control has allowed the township to request the company remove unauthorized roads that have been built at the site.
“We will not have that type of control on those things for the next ones,” Laidman said.
The township has five similar projects going through the ministry approval process at this time. The township has passed a resolution asking the ministry for input on landscaping for these projects going forward.
Bay Road residents would like to have seen the township step forward to voice these thoughts when this all began this fall.
“We would have appreciated that kind of support back then,” said Cecelia Baker, who lives near the solar farm site.
Ultimately, residents would like a policy in place that would require testing to be done before work on solar farms begin. This situation has had a significant impact on their lives. Leslie has been trying to educate her handicapped son on using bottled water rather than tap water for the past three months.
“It’s a bit of a nightmare,” she added. “I’m putting out two blue bags of plastic a week. You can’t make a can of soup without opening a bottle of water.”
The company has provided impacted residents with bottled water on two occasions – the first in early October for a two-week period and the second last week.
In addressing their current situation, residents would like weekly water tests done by the company until their water is restored to pre-work quality. The Ministry’s report notes that installation of a treatment system(s) may assist in improving the colour and odour in the water. If such a system is ultimately required, residents would like the company to cover this cost for each impacted homeowner.
Attempts to reach EDF EN Canada (owners of the site) for comment were not successful by deadline this week.
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