Proposed water exports threaten Tay River

How you can help stop mining company from taking 1 million gallons per day - and not returning it

By: Sue Brandum

  I live (near Perth, Ontario) on the Tay River, a small scenic river which happens to flow into the Rideau River, which in turn flows into the Ottawa River and then into the St. Lawrence River. In other words, I, like most of you, live in the Great Lakes Watershed.
  We have a situation here I think you all might find interesting. A mining company, which mines calcium carbonate north of here, has applied for a water taking permit from the Ministry of Environment to remove water from the Tay River. It wants to take as much water as the Town of Perth now does - about a million gallons a day.
  The interesting thing is that while most of the water the town takes makes its way back to the river, via sewage etc., the company, OMYA, mixes the water with its crushed calcium carbonate and exports the slurry, i.e. the water never makes it back to the Tay, it goes to the US and elsewhere.
  For $1 million, here are the questions: Is the water still water? When is a water export not a water export?
  If anyone can answer these questions, I can only be grateful. If I had a million dollars, I'd buy the Tay and give it to a land conservancy.

Tay River Watershed Plan
Public Notice
Regarding OMYA (Canada) Inc. Proposed Water Taking from the Tay River

Request to write letters to the Ministry of Environment by April 2

The Tay River Watershed Plan Executive Committee wishes to bring to the attention of the community information related to OMYA's recent application to install a pumping station on the Tay River to supply water for its industrial plant. The application may be viewed at the Bathurst, Burgess, Sherbrooke township office on Harper Road, at the Perth Public Library, at the Ministry of the Environment, Kingston or on the Environmental Registry website at www.ene.gov.on.ca or 204.40.253.254/envregistry/013314ei.htm.

BACKGROUND

• The amount of water asked for is large - approximately a million gallons a day, equivalent to the amount of water used by the town of Perth daily; pumping large amounts of water from the Tay River has implications for the whole watershed including questions about water levels, the Perth water supply, fish and wildlife habitats, groundwater recharging, adjacent wetlands, Parks Canada water management levels for the Rideau Canal and recreation;

• Changing weather patterns and global warming have created increased interest in water management issues and the need for caution for managing water resources;

• The watershed's principal reservoir lake, Bob's lake, is currently two feet below normal, the outflow is at an all time low, and Environment Canada forecasts Eastern Canada's drought conditions to continue;

• There is currently no comprehensive study of the Tay River on which to base decisions with longterm and widespread implications;

• The engineering report supporting the OMYA application uses data from the Glen Tay water gauge as "the most appropriate"; however, the gauge at Glen Tay has not been used since 1927;

• Initial studies sponsored by the Tay River Watershed Plan show current available information is scattered, incomplete and out of date and that more study is needed;

• Changes in the Ministry of the Environment's process make public participation an essential component of environmental decision making.

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