From: Betty Konc

Date: 03/08/05 12:23:15

Subject: wainfleet water woes

Dear Mr. Godfrey,

Let me introduce myself, I am Betty Konc and I have a community committee that is opposed to the water/sewer pipeline proposed by the Region for the lakeshore area of Wainfleet Township. I also sit on the PAC formed by the Region to get more input from the community with regards this project. Without a presentation by myself and members of the above mentioned committee, the EA report would probably have been completed by now and tenders put out for bids on this ill advised project for an area that will serve only 1400 residents.

You may be hearing from Dr. Robin Williams and the Mayor of Wainfleet that we have a need for the pipeline in that we have poor quality water due to faulty septic systems. This in part may be true but I think that the case for poor water is being overstated. We cannot be compared to Walkerton, simply because they had a municipal water supply that was supposed to be monitored, the e-coli found in their water was from animal matter not human. There have not been any reported cases of illness from drinking this so called poor water simply because we all either treat our water or buy bottled water. We know and acknowledge that there is a problem but a water/sewer pipeline is overkill, especially when there are only 1400 residents along the study area. While we are at it what about the poor water quality in the village of Wainfleet? If you go to any of the public facilities in the village you are always told don't drink the water out of the tap. Maybe the Mayor and Dr. Williams should address this issue too.

The initial baseline project has stated that the water supply issue is secondary to the wastewater issue. I tell you this because at the recent Value Analysis Exercise, the consultants recommended that to save money just a water pipeline be put in , rather than wastewater, which is what Dr. Williams is advocating for, but this does not address the problem which will continue if just water is considered. We need to get these people to get their heads around the solution which is to fix the few faulty systems which when done would allow the water to correct itself over time. I understand that no one knows the exact time of recovery for water but it will recover.

The Region and in part the township has allowed this to perpetuate over the last 40 years or so and is now wanting to saddle the residents with a huge bill that none of us can afford on either side of the boundary line. They are the ones who have put us in this untenable situation and now expect we the residents to pay for them not doing the jobs they should have been doing all these years by monitoring and having people fix or repair faulty systems. The Region does not want to allow the use of holding tanks which could address the problem and as a matter of fact is allowed by the Ontario Building Code.

The cost of this project has gone from 42 million to 48 million and after the VAE is now expected to top 72 million. This is not doable for 1400 residents when the answer is one that I have mentioned above. If Mr. Harry and Dr. Williams are so worried about the water why have they not established a water depot to dispense potable water to the residents? The cost to the residents is supposedly $19,500.00 (that was when the cost was 48million) on the township side of the boundary line and god only knows what on our side of the boundary line, this is a big question because we are dealing with bedrock for a large portion of the study area, it takes longer to get through rock than just plain soil and will cause structural damage. We can put the $19000.00 on our taxes but where do we come up with the money to pay a contractor on our side of the boundary? We the residents should not have to be forced to do this period let alone having to do the mental gymnastics to figure out how to pay this incredibly huge bill. I don't agree with the whole project, there is a simpler way of dealing with this issue, but if it is forced on us then the township, region, Federal and Provincial governments should all be picking up the whole tab for this because if not there are people who will lose their homes over this and there is also the added health risk of stress induced heart attacks and other stress related illnesses, none of which our good Dr. Williams has even addressed. Her only concern seems to be not being sued, a comment she made to me and another citizen at the end of the VAE when we questioned her about her approval of just having a water line installed, instead of wastewater.

Please take our concerns into consideration when you see Mr. Harry and Dr. Williams on the 22nd of this month. Our concerns are just as valid as theirs even more so being as we are the ones being told we are going to pay for something most of us don't want or need.

If you would like to discuss this issue I am available by phone 905-834-1143, or by e-mail. Thank you for taking the time to read this I hope it helps put the whole picture into perspective for your meeting on the 22nd.

Betty Konc

chair Wainfleet Water/Sewer committee