The proposal that water from new or existing wells in Millbrook be piped 12 kilometers from the village up County Road #10 towards Highway 115 and east along the Larmer Line will overcome the large hurdle of providing sewer and water services for possible subdivisions and commercial development along the Cty. Rd. 10 corridor.
Who is going to benefit from water being taken from the village of Millbrook?
Who has purchased the farmland along county Road 10 just north of Millbrook and in the Fraserville development area?
Would you like to preserve the north hillside entrance to the historic village Millbrook?
It would be in keeping with rural image portrayed in the 'You can have it all in Cavan Monaghan Township' billboards.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Would you like to preserve a bit of the ‘Green and Pleasant Land’ hillside entrance to the historic village of Millbrook?
3 comments:
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This was a question that was asked today: I’m no expert in contracts and legal liabilities but:
ReplyDeleteI’m assuming that the experts are coming to the open house to inform us that there is lots of water for everyone in Millbrook. If this were to go through, and the water table drops or is exhausted, private citizens wells go dry, and even worse, Millbrook loses it’s water supply, are the experts who are so confident that there is lots of water in Millbrook, legally responsible to cover the costs of both the citizens and the township as a result, or is the township itself left on the hook to it’s citizens, with no water supply in the township? How much weight does an experts advice hold, if they aren’t legally and financially responsible for its own advice?
Water is the great unknown and according to the Ontario Groundwater Association and there has never been a comprehensive mapping of the groundwater resources in Ontario. The underwater system - a series of rivers flowing through tunnels changes constantly. A friend was recently traipsing in the Great White North and saw bridges that had no rivers - the rivers had shifted to other locations. But we just don't seem to learn. If all the wells have their flow rates or capacity affected by this huge construction project, there won't be enough money in the coffers of the township to cover the irreversible damage.
This is a letter posted in a recent issue of The Millbrook Times by a concerned residentof Cavan-Monaghan Township, Ms Eva Hans. It is reprinted here with the author's permission:
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to read Ryan’s Moore letter in The Millbrook Times of the last week – a lonely voice supporting the Fraserville development. But Mr. Moore mixes two issues – one is taking water from Millbrook well and the other is building a New City of Fraserville. The amount of water in aquifers is totally unknown and water table can change depending on supply (rain) and demand. Taking millions of liters per day might leave Millbrook as well as newly built Fraserville without water and the private wells would go dry in a very large area, larger then Township’s borders. Who would be paying for re-drilling? Who would be paying the lawyers’ fees? Will there be water left for so large population? How can anybody take the responsibility for such decision and gamble with the existence of many thousands of people. No consultants and experts can be sure what will happen in a long run. Perhaps nothing and perhaps a disaster. We just had a several years of drought – in 2008 the wetlands dried up and some wells went dry as well. Moreover, taking water indiscriminately will affect the hydrological make-up of the Oakridge Morains which can lead to a very grave consequences. There is a lot of wetlands, creeks and 2 small rivers here, but the official ESTIMATE of ground water amount is only “fair”.
There are alternative sources of water available for Fraserville but, as Reeve Cathcart said when interviewed by the Peterborough This Week “the consultants the Township hired have said the cheapest way for the Township to service the Fraserville area is to bring water from Millbrook”. So it is the cheapest way……….no matter what the consequences. And as we all well know, consultants and experts can be very wrong.
Development should mean progress when wisely done, the way that everybody benefits. What is a benefit of building a large city just 12 km away? Jobs – perhaps, but most likely not. After all, there will be 680 houses inhabited by those who would want the jobs. More people coming to Millbrook? Most probably no because Millbrook will rapidly deteriorate, the existing businesses will die not being able to compete with box stores just next door. And so far nothing has been done to make the village more attractive, just in contrary – everything is being taken away. The Town Hall sold so instead of coming and enjoying the place one has to drive outside to some obscure building called The Municipal Offices. One of the largest attractions – the historical Needlers Mill is under the threat of demolition – no money for repairs? Where are those millions of tax dollars not only from Slots but also from the ratepayers and businesses? WHAT HAS BEEN DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY?
Do we want to become a playground for the future New City of Fraserville?
Township Water
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be some confusion as to who has the right to use the existing wells in Millbrook. Do they belong just to the residents in the village and no one else? Has the village of Millbrook become a separate entity from the rest of the township? I know that in the past the village of Millbrook has always been treated as though it is separate from the rest of the township but in this situation I think it is time to have this matter clarified. Could council please clarify this?
Our township is finally moving in a forward motion and yet several residents seem to want this stopped. I think that we can all agree that council does not always make the “right” decision but in this case it is my opinion that they are working toward something that is only going to benefit the township and its’ residents.
Over the last several years council has been working towards bringing development to the area only to have a select few oppose it at every turn. Would it not be a great thing to be able to walk to a well paying job right in our own community?
Lately, all we seem to read about is how everyone is going to lose all their water no matter what the experts say. A lot of residents have painted such a negative picture of the situation that we never hear about the positives. What if people don’t lose their water and everything is fine? The township has been paying consultants and experts for a reason, because they know what they are talking about. If I wanted to know how to create a portrait I would ask an artist. If I wanted to know how to fix a car, I would ask a mechanic. We have consultants, we need to use them and trust their knowledge. Yes there have been communities who have had water issues but there have been others who have had absolutely no issues! Since the township has been given all the clearances to proceed with this project they must be doing something right. It is not as though council can just do as they wish, they have rules and regulations that they must follow.
I know that there seems to be these imaginary boundaries between certain areas of the township but all they do is keep people divided on the issues. If we have more residents in the area this could mean that there will be more people to visit the Village of Millbrook, the 4th Line Theatre and our other many attractions in the whole township.
Again, maybe it is time that we support our council and help them to make the township a better place to live. And just maybe we could “Have it all right here”
I completely support Cavan Monaghan council in their usage of the wells in the village of Millbrook.
Sincerely,
Ryan Moore
831 Bland Line
Cavan, Ont
Just thought I would post my own letter from the previous issue of the Millbrook Times. We will never agree on all the issues but I thought I would post a more positive article.