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Mono Council eying joint source water protection plan

March 10, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Peter Richardson

Mono Council was given a presentation Tuesday on a Joint Source Water Protection Plan by Steve Burns, of B.M. Ross and Associates.

Under the proposal, Mono would join with Orangeville, Amaranth and East Garafraxa, and enter into a Source Water Management Model.

Under the plan, the four municipalities would jointly assess risks to Source Water as well as periodically update the hydrologic and hydrogeological data that runs the Model, while sharing the cost of those updates.

Since Source Water Protection Plans are mandated by the Province and are the tool by which a municipality facilitates the planning and management of their water supply resources to ensure long-term sustainability of supply, a Management Model allows for a larger view supply and risks to it, such as development.

In an example, the presentation revealed that the Cardinal Woods community, though not at risk now or for the foreseeable future, could, in the distant future be at risk for insufficient water flow. This is a result of the rated capacity of its wells, verses the capacity of the aquifer they draw from. If the wells were to be pumping at capacity, the aquifer would be unable to sustain the volume of water being drawn, resulting in a shortfall. However, this would only affect Cardinal Woods and not the rest of the town, and in further discussion it became clear that the scenario was highly unlikely, as further development nearby is not expected to be large enough to require the necessary water volume and only two of the three wells involved may be pumped simultaneously.

Mono also has two bylaws that would offset the use of too much water. One allows the Town to limit the use of water outside the home, such  as for lawn watering, when the rate of recharge is too low, and secondly, developers are required to have no impact on ground water reclamation when they build. They must also compensate for hard surface runoffs so that all the natural water does in fact, re-enter the aquifers.

Council moved to accept the presentation and to make application to the government and the other municipalities, to adopt the plan and the model, as outlined.

Fred Simpson presented an excellent overview of the Town website, noting a steady increase of users, including an 11% increase from 2015. The website currently comprises over 500 pages and some 8,800 documents.

It was noted that the subscription base to the Town Newsletter has remained relatively constant, with fewer than 10% of residents subscribing; however, as RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds, of which the Town has two, cannot be tracked, many other residents may be utilizing these more private information sources, rather than giving out their email addresses.

Mr. Simpson pointed out that about 40% of users are doing so on mobile devices and that, in general, users visit the site two to three times a year.

One of the strong points in Mono’s site is the Registration links. These allow online registration for programs and are handled in two different ways. For simple requirements, such as yoga classes, the transactions are handled via Pay Pal, at a cost to the Town of 2% plus 30 cents for each transaction. For more complex registrations, where a lot of personal data is required, such as in soccer, everything is handled via a third-party server, for a cost of $3.00 plus the fee. By doing this, in both cases, the Town is at arm’s length to the transaction and is not liable for the protection of personal financial information, such as credit card numbers.

In other business, it was noted that Mono’s Family Day festivities were a huge success, with over 700 people coming for  the skiing and possibly over 1000 attending Island Lakes events. Not only were Mono residents well represented, but families came from as far away as Brampton and Shelburne to participate.

Town Hall Meeting coming

Mono will be holding a Town Hall Meeting on Saturday, March 25th, at Mono Community Centre. The meeting will run from 9:30 a.m. until noon.

Mono Council has identified community consultation and participation as key priorities. Town Hall Meetings have been implemented to allow an open dialogue between residents and Council for a free exchange of ideas and information in an informal atmosphere.

Topics of the meeting will include a presentation on municipal and private well water quality and on the health risks of radon gas in residential buildings.

Radon is a radioactive gas that is produced naturally by the breakdown of uranium in the ground. Since radon can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted, it can get into your home undetected. In outdoor air, radon is diluted and therefore not a concern but in confined spaces like your house, radon can build up and become a health risk.

Following these two presentations will be an open forum for residents to ask questions of Council. Residents are encouraged to submit questions in advance using the online form on the Town’s website, found at: townofmono.com/town-hall-meeting-questions

This will be the first of two Town Hall Meetings planned for 2017.


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