Where the rain was once absorbed by the soil, it now washes pollutants off of lawns, driveways and roads into a collection pond, before entering our streams and rivers.
Heavy contaminants are meant to settle to the bottom of the pond, while floating oils and litter get caught on the shoreline. A submerged outlet pipe allows the middle layer of water to discharge into our waterways. High volumes of water are simply allowed to overflow the banks of the pond.
Tire rubber, brake dust, oil and gas; fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide and pet feces; road salt, sand & silt, building debris, solid litter and anything that fits through a storm drain, fills a Stormwater Pond with toxic waste before it discharges downstream.
How effective is the system? What is the water quality coming out of the pond?
SWMFs are not monitored, maintained or tested for effectiveness; not by the developer, the township, the county, the conservation authority or the Ministry of the Environment. Stormwater Management ponds are designed and built by developers as a better alternative to nothing at all.
Once the development is complete, the pond becomes the responsibility of the Township; a liability for the Taxpayers when the system fails. The Township puts up a sign that reads “No Fishing, No Swimming, No Pets, No Skating. Do Not Go Near The Water.”.
Farther downstream, there are no warning signs posted in the Elora Gorge, as people are invited to play in the very same water.
Cutting “Red Tape” means taking away your rights to clean water, damages our tourism economy and endangers public health and safety. We get stuck with the bill and developers laugh all the way to the bank. Perhaps this system could benefit from a little more regulation.
For more information on the developments appealing to the Ontario Land Tribunal, visit the Township website.
https://www.centrewellington.ca/doing-business/current-applications/
If you’ve already signed the petition, Thanks for your support! Please share it with our community! And keep checking my “Updates” section for more information on this complex issue.