Sir: I read with interest your article on Rotarian and water conservationist John Lawrence entitled, “Don’t take clean water for granted.”
His concern about micro-beads is one which many scientists share and which led the Canadian Environmental Law Association to propose a law to ban these plastic beads from all products. We’ll see how long it takes before products with them are off the shelf. Soon, I hope.
I share his interest in clean water in a headwater community on the Thames River, where groundwater supplies our drinking water, while wastewater gets sent to Chatham. I hope that you will be pleased to know that for many, “dilution is the solution to pollution.”
Or, perhaps not.
In the upper reaches of the river, there are three main concerns about the water that flows to you. Firstly, e-coli and coliform bacteria thrive in the nutrient-rich water. Secondly, the north fork is crossed by Line 9, the controversial pipeline which many assert will leak sooner rather than later. Further, a proposal to put a dump beside the river leads many to believe that the chemical soup called leachate will join the other pollutants, solid and liquid, and find a way into the water.
People in Oxford County massively oppose the proposal of a private dump for Toronto and the GTA’s waste. We believe it poses an unacceptable risk for us, and moreso for downstream communities using the river for a water source, as a place for sports and perhaps even for food. (Around here, some people still fish for food, though I cringe at the thought.)
I applaud John Lawrence for his concern about the water flowing into the river, for his conservation of water, for the education he provides and for his broader concerns about water purity. I worry that upriver battles might mean his are lost. That gives us in Oxford County even more reasons to fight.
We invite the solidarity of Rotary members and residents of Chatham in their own best interests.
We’d invite John to come talk to us as he has with other groups, or be glad to brave the garbage scows on Highway 401 to come see him.
Bryan Smith
Sweaburg
