Simcoe Uplands petition calls on Ottawa to protect purest water

Water seeps up and trickles down under the forest canopy of the Simcoe Uplands in fall. | AWARE Simcoe photo

The Government of Canada is being asked to take action to protect the purest water known to science.

A petition published on the House of Commons website urges that the federal government use the Canada Water Act and any other relevant legislation to protect the pristine waters of the Simcoe Uplands – also known as French’s Hill – so that research may proceed into how this purity is created and maintained.

Protection needs to be put in place before the resource is lost, says Dr. Michael Powell of the University of Alberta, one of the scientists involved in the five-year research project.

Paraphrasing from an article he recently wrote with Dr. William Shotyk, Bocock Chair for Agriculture and the Environment at the University of Alberta, Powell points out that the waters of Tiny Township are a natural treasure, one unique to Canada.

“If they are lost our chance to study and understand natural processes responsible for their quality and our capacity to implement new levels of resource protection will be gone – a natural analog for water purification will be lost, forever.”

He added: “Aggregate occurs throughout Ontario, pristine water only occurs here. We must better understand this resource before it is destroyed. Do we want aggregate in the short term, or pristine water forever?”

Beth Brass Elson, one of the Nishnaabekweg who led the battle to prevent Dump Site 41 from being built atop the water, deplores the continuing struggle.

“A lot of prayers and hard work have gone out to help protect this precious aquifer,” she said. “We should not have to save the same water source twice.”

She called on all to sign the petition and pass along the message. “Some of the World’s Purest Water is calling for your help.  Nibi (Water), we all need it to survive!”

The petition https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3867 is sponsored by Simcoe North MP Adam Chambers. “This is a matter of great importance to residents of Simcoe North and citizens across Canada and we thank our MP for bringing the matter forward,” said AWARE Simcoe Chair Don Morgan.

The Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Associations (FoTTSA), AWARE Simcoe, Friends of the Waverley Uplands and the local farm community are among the many groups that have worked over many years to preserve the exceptional groundwater. For 15 years, the Elmvale Foundation has been raising awareness of the unique quality of these waters, and using this as a tool for public education about our environment.

Powell noted that there’s an urgent need for action. “I have visited the slopes and terraces of French’s Hill and I have seen the wetlands that occur at every level.

“I have also seen how parts of French’s Hill have been stripped of trees and soil, and I understand how this will impact filtration and water quality – with time, almost 50 per cent of the northern section of French’s Hill will be impacted in this way.”

Here’s the data – Research papers that reference the purest water:

Trace elements in recent groundwater of an artesian flow system and comparison with snow: enrichments, depletions, and chemical evolution of the water: Shotyk et al. (2010) JEM trace elements in groundwater

Size-resolved Pb distribution in theAthabasca River shows snowmelt in the bituminous sands region an insignificant source of dissolved Pb: Javed et al., (2017) size-resolved Pb distribution Athabasca River (Sci Reports)

Contamination of Canadian and European bottled waters with antimony from PET containers: Shotyk et al. (2006) JEM contamination of bottled water with Sb from PET

Natural abundance of Sb and Sc in pristine groundwaters, Springwater Township, Ontario, Canada, and implications for tracing contamination from landfill leachates: Shotyk et al. (2005) JEM Natural abundance of Sb in pristine groundwater

Determination of trace element concentrations in natural freshwaters: How low is ‘‘low’’, and how low do we need to go?: Shotyk and Krachler (2009) JEM Editorial trace elements in water

Contamination of Bottled Waters with Antimony Leaching from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Increases upon Storage: Shotyk and Krachler (2007) ES&T Sb contamination increases with storage in PET

Lead in Bottled Waters: Contamination from Glass and Comparison with Pristine Groundwater: Shotyk and Krachler (2007) ES&T Pb in bottled waters

Read the article: Flashback to 2009 Site 41 battle

Also read: Petition seeks federal help to protect ‘purest water in the world’