• Protecting Water and Farmland in Simcoe County

Saturday May 28: Mega-quarry battle comes to Simcoe County

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In Meetings, events
May 21st, 2011
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“We have to start moving away from policies of consumption”
AWARE Simcoe news release May 20 2011
Melancthon Deputy Mayor Darren White is one of the featured panelists at the AWARE Simcoe Annual General Meeting, to be held on the morning of Saturday, May 28 at the Big Bay Point Golf and Country Club,, 3912 30th Sd/Rd & Big Bay Point Road in Innisfil.
White has been in the forefront of his agricultural community’s battle against the mega-quarry, a battle that pits farmers and environmentalists against The Highland Companies, owned by a hedge fund in Boston. 
Water, the topic of AWARE Simcoe’s May 28 meeting, is a key concern for opponents of the mega-quarry, which is proposed to extend over 2.400 acres and reach down 236 feet. The plan is for 16 pumps to run 24/7 in perpetuity to “manage” 600 million litres of water a day (the amount to be pumped is equivalent to what is used by a quarter of the province’s population in a day)..
White is concerned that the approvals process does not safeguard the water – an issue that affects an estimated million people whose drinking water comes from the affected rivers and aquifers 
“Unfortunately the Ontario Government has allowed the aggregate industry to police itself, and we are dealing with ever larger proposals for aggregate extraction in the face of uncontrolled growth,” White said.
“Aggregate extraction has been afforded a prime position in government policy when our focus should be on clean water, locally grown food and sustainable growth.  We have to start moving away from policies of consumption and embrace policies of conservation.”
The mega-quarry proposal is of vital importance to Simcoe County residents, said AWARE Simcoe chair Don Morgan. “The Nottawasaga watershed covers half of the county and we need to be concerned about the mega-quarry’s effect on drinking water, recreation and wildlife.”
White will be joined for a panel discussion on water by 
-Beverley Else of Celebrate Lake Simcoe
-Dr. William Shotyk of the Elmvale Water Festival
-Councillor Jeff Monague of Beausoleil First Nation
The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m., the panel discussion will start at around 10:30
Key Points
-Melancthon is referred to as “The Headwaters Region “ for a reason. It’s where five major rivers – the Pine, Grand, Nottawasaga, Saugeen, Mad and Noisy – have their beginnings. These important river systems flow outward from Melancthon in all directions, feeding clean water to an estimated 1,000,000 Ontarians.
-In addition to the tremendous importance of its surface river and stream resources, Melancthon sits firmly atop of the Amabel-Lockport-Guelph aquifer, a significant water resource of the Greater Golden Horseshoe region.  This aquifer supplies some of the purest and cleanest water in this region of North America.  Directly adjacent to the Alliston aquifer, it is one of our highest yielding and most productive aquifers.
-The Geological Survey of Canada considers the Southern Ontario basin region and in particular the Niagara Escarpment region significant for the buried valleys found within.  These buried valleys have been exploited for groundwater since the 1800s as they are known to host high yield aquifers.  

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