http://ottawariverkeeper.ca The Ottawa Riverkeeper en-us Copyright 2005 2012-02-11T06:00:16-05:00 hourly Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:43:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/blog/please_support_the_2012_water_38_wastewater_budgets/ On February 22nd the City of Ottawa’s Water and Wastewater Operating Budgets will go before City Council. The budgets include rate increases to the water and sewer bill, and there is opposition to them. The infrastructure improvements outlined in the budgets are important to your health as well as the health of our local rivers and streams. Please contact your city councillor. Ask them to ... Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:25:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/joanne_chianello_we_only_think_about_sewers_when_they_stop_working/ A councillor was stopped in the hall and asked about the possibility of luring a minor-league baseball team to Ottawa. Not what the politician wanted to talk about. “The people who want baseball had better pay for it themselves. Government can’t subsidize baseball and fix sewers, too.” The councillor railed on. “There are no votes underground. For years politicians bought ... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:25:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/time_to_fix_water_troubles/ Re: Time to pay the piper, Feb. 1. As a fiscally prudent person I’m naturally averse to hiking any fee above the rate of inflation. However, when faced with these decisions, I often think of a Chinese proverb “A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.” Without casting stones, inaction by previous councils has allowed our water infrastructure to seriously ... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:15:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/speed_up_pipe_fixes_hume_says/ A $2.1-billion plan to repair Ottawa’s crumbling water and sewer pipes might not be aggressive enough, says veteran councillor and infrastructure wonk Peter Hume. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a debate about spending more sooner,” said the Alta Vista politician, who formerly chaired the city council committee responsible for the city’s ... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:48:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/auditor_to_oversee_ncc_bridge_process/ EMC news – A fairness auditor will be installed to look out for the public interest during the latest consultation process for the National Capital Commission’s interprovincial bridge project. The plans to introduce the auditor were announced at the Jan. 25 meeting of the NCC board of directors, where an update was presented on the progress of the Ontario-Quebec interprovincial ... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:25:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/so_we_found_these_islands_in_the_ottawa_river/ They’ve actually been there all along, at least as long as anyone’s been paying attention, but the city missed Alexandra and Simcoe islands, west of Fitzroy Harbour, when it was making up a comprehensive official plan after amalgamation. So they’ve kind of just been left out. Luckily, the planning department and city council’s agriculture and rural affairs committee are on the case. ... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/web_poll_should_the_ottawa_river_be_designated_a_heritage_river/ Poll Question Results Do you support Canadian heritage designation for the Ottawa River? A) Yes. The Ottawa River is worthy of the heritage designation and the potential economic benefits such as tourism. 56% B) No. The designation could result in overregulation and impact property owners’ rights along the river. 22% C) The designation should be granted, with protections built in ... Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/city_of_ottawa_water_rates_to_soar_74_per_cent_over_decade/ OTTAWA — Ottawa’s water rates are set to rise a combined 74 per cent over the next 10 years as the city struggles to repair and replace a system of old and failing pipes. Years of putting off major work on the water and sewer system have to come to an end, council’s environment committee heard from staff Tuesday morning. The city needs to double its spending on maintaining and expanding ... Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:37:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/quebec_s_environment_law_given_more_bite/ Quebec’s Environment Department says new penalties that come into effect Wednesday will help protect the province’s waterways, forests, wetlands and natural areas from pollution. The department now has the power to impose penalties between $250 and $10,000 on individuals, companies and municipalities it believes are not respecting Quebec’s environment-quality law. It ... Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:28:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/blog/something_stinks_between_watson_and_baird_1/ Should Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson use some of the federal light rapid transit funds to improve sewage infrastructure? For Ottawa citizens it’s hard to decide. While most of us strongly support a sewage-free river, we also understand the environmental, economic and practical necessity of building an LRT. But before choosing sides, here is Ottawa Riverkeeper’s take on the debate . . . Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:41:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/ecology_ottawa_launches_mp_letter_writing_campaign_over_ottawa_river_cleanup/ Environmental advocacy group Ecology Ottawa has launched a letter-writing campaign to get local MPs onside with the Ottawa River Action Plan. In an email sent to subscribers of their mailing list, the group is urging people to send a letter to Ottawa-area MPs so that the cleanup strategy gets adequate funding in the 2012 federal budget. From the “action alert,” as Ecology Ottawa ... Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:56:00 -0500 http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/use_lrt_cash_for_river_cleanup_baird/ Foreign Affairs minister John Baird is giving Mayor Jim Watson the option of using millions in federal LRT money for the Ottawa River cleanup. In a letter to Watson dated Sept. 30, 2011 and obtained by the Sun, Baird says he viewed the cleanup as the city’s “top priority,” but city officials during last term of council said their priority was transit. “I went along with the city’s ...