Old landfill focus of new water worries

By Nicole Million Midland Mirror
MIDLAND – An outspoken advocate for safe drinking water is concerned about a possible “plume of leachate” at the former Midland/Penetanguishene/Tiny landfill site on Golf Link Road.
Steve Ogden – who has been front and centre for more than 20 years attempting to stop controversial landfill Site 41 – said he has been trying to learn more about various sites around the county to determine if there is any leakage of leachate, the liquid that drains from landfills.
“I initially wanted to know if (the Golf Link Road site) is one of the ones that has been leaking,” he said, adding he is also concerned about a possible plume emanating from the site, which hasn’t been used as a landfill since the 1970s.
“They may need to get more attenuation zones to the north of the dump. They need to drill down in the roadway there so they can maybe trap it and then pump it back into Tiny,” he said. “I just think all residents have the right to know that their water could be somewhat contaminated. Maybe it meets reasonable-use (guidelines); however, I would want to have that choice if I were to drink it or not.”
Midland CAO Ted Walker noted a bylaw regarding a road agreement between Midland, Tiny Township and the County of Simcoe was raised late last year. At that time, he said, there was some reference to the issue.
Town engineer Doug Baker said the site has been monitored for a number of years and several reports have been released.
“Whatever flow of leachate that may be beyond the boundaries have been well documented. The Town of Midland has the July 2009 report in our office here, and there will be another forthcoming…. They monitor all around the site,” he said, adding while leachate does flow with the groundwater, he wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a plume.
Baker said the drilling of Wilson Road, which was discussed last month at council, is part of the ongoing monitoring by the county.
“That agreement for Wilson Road … which council is holding off on (approving) pending further information from the county … is a renewal of a previous agreement,” he said. “The county has been drilling in the past on Wilson Road to monitor the (site). The agreement has expired and they wanted to renew that agreement.”
Rob McCullough, director of environmental services for the county, said leachate is something that has to be monitored at all old landfill sites.
“Unlike these new engineered sites, the old sites don’t have leachate collection systems, liners, etc.,” he said. “We have to continue to monitor it to ensure it’s not causing off-site impact and, if it is, we have to look at doing more monitoring and the best paths to go.”
McCullough said despite ongoing monitoring of the former landfill site, there are “absolutely no” reasons for any health concerns. However, he said the county will continue to look at that site – and any other sites it inherited – to make sure that continues to be the case.
“If there were any negative impacts on surrounding wells, we would be working with those people,” he said. “The residential water supply samples are not affected by the landfill.”
He added the county is working on getting some property rights from the town around the site, as there is what he called “impacted ground water.”
“When you have a landfill site like this one, you have natural attenuations sites…. If we don’t go in and collect the leachate, as we’d do at a new and engineered landfill site … the juice that can be within the garbage can and will impact the groundwater,” he said. “We just need to make sure we have enough land around it so the natural process – much like with a septic system – can take place without impacting someone else’s property.”
McCullough pointed out the monitoring has nothing to do with the transfer station currently located at the site, but relates only to the old landfill site the county inherited in the 1990s.
McCullough said information regarding the monitoring of the former landfill – along with any other site in the county – is available at the county’s Midhurst office.