A local environmental group is raising red flags over a proposed change to Wallaceburg’s drinking water supply, urging Chatham-Kent council to reconsider switching the intake source from the Chenal Ecarte to Lake Erie.
The Wallaceburg Advisory Team for a Cleaner Habitat (WATCH), a grassroots non-governmental organization, says pollution concerns in Lake Erie remain serious and could pose health and environmental risks to the community if the municipality proceeds with the proposal outlined in its Water and Wastewater Master Plan.
WATCH was involved in consultations over a similar proposal between 2014 and 2016. At the time, a multi-stakeholder focus group ultimately recommended upgrading the existing Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant rather than constructing a transmission pipeline from Chatham.
The current draft of the master plan acknowledges this. As noted on page 23 of the document:
“The 2012 Water/Wastewater Master Plan (Dillon) initially identified a transmission pipe from Chatham as the preferred solution. However, the 2016 Class EA (Stantec) revisited this recommendation, ultimately rejecting the pipeline due to community concerns and instead identifying an upgrade to the existing Wallaceburg Water Treatment Plant as the preferred option.”
WATCH says those same concerns still apply—and are more pressing today. The group points to ongoing pollution from U.S. industrial sites around Lake Erie, including the presence of so-called “forever chemicals” like PFAS, and the worsening threat of harmful algal blooms.
“The community concerns referenced in the municipality’s Master Plan Review refer to the pollution problems in Lake Erie,” WATCH said in a statement. “Those problems still exist and in fact have increased with added new emerging list of chemicals such as fire retardants (PFAS) and algal blooms, many of which are not controlled or diligently monitored in municipal water filtration systems.”
Kris Lee, WATCH’s communications and outreach lead, thanked local councillors for stepping in.
“We want to thank our councillors Carmen McGregor and Aaron Hall for their quick action in bringing attention to the Wallaceburg and area community on changes of direction and submitting revised recommendations which will include community engagement at [the] July 14th Council meeting,” said Lee.
WATCH plans to make a formal deputation at that meeting.
“It is important that council revisit the extensive research conducted through the previous Stantec recommendations,” said Joel Johnson, chair of WATCH. “Although very tempting from a financial perspective, it is our recommendation that CK Council approaches any changes to the current water source with extreme caution. When it comes to health risks and operational redundancy, they need to conscientiously take into account all factors, not just money.”
More coverage on this story can be found, here.
