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The Free Press Wednesday Educators say no pat solution to village problems Free Press reporter Lorraine Root sat down with three educators from the University to discuss the water and proposals for the village Since the Ontario Municipal Board will hear the pros and com of the proposals next Tuesday we publish the results of the Interview since the Press considers that every side of the question should be exposed for the benefit of village residents By Lorraine Deadline Thats what Tuesday October 1971 represents to villagers In after five years of mumbling bungling tussling and Then residents will sec their plight presented for consideration to the Ontario Municipal Board an entire village will be dependent on Its wisdom to determine the feasibility of plunging moderately residents Into an approximate 14 million dollar debt or find a more adequate method of solving serious problem Aspects for consideration In this vital matter are innumerable necessity of pollution curtailment landscape planning and building control environmental ambitions and of major importance the ability of a small reasonably unnffluent community to handle the tremendous costs Professional engineers Three University of educators In the studies of environment and water resources have shown concern over situation They feel that with their close proximity to the problem area they would be falling short of their reason for existence if they did not apply some thought to Its solution Taking time off from their active university calendar they discussed the village problem as they see It No pat solution Professor Peter Chlsholm agreed with Professor Hugh and Dr Trevor Dickinson that Rockwood definitely has a pollution problem but that in dealing with It there Is no pat solution I think he said that often the partitioning engineer or the government group whose job it Is to solve problems make a point to give the impression that there Is a very neat solution and that theres only one solution to the problem because people like to hear that answer They feel very comfortable and secure with that but I think that for any problem like the one there Isnt Just one neat solution there are a number of solutions depending on what wants Do they want to grow Do they want to be small and depending on what direction that the village wants to go or the regional government wants the village to go illustrates that there could be a number of solutions considered He is concerned in the easy ac ceptance of the pro no question has been raised as to whether It Is the best one for the Village of Rockwood No one is questioning the pollution problem he said the magnitude or the extent of it What Professor Chlsholm does question is the measures of inspection which the Health Unit has ascertaining beyond doubt that the septic systems in the trouble area of the Village ore beyond repair There may be some that cannot be fixed he said but I would doubt if one could turn around and ask if they have examined ever system or the majority of the systems to see what would be involved in fixing some of them Professor Hugh who has studied the situation in wood extensively feels that in many areas of the village where series of buildings occur on lots narrower than subdivision requirements some very absurd tank situations exist but that rather than incurring debt expensive system the residents should be encouraged instead to realize that close scrutiny and remedial action would bring people up to standard Holding tanks Referring to the actual problem systems in the village on which according to a mapped layout based on the Department of Healths surveys the contamination is concentrated in only certain areas Dr Trevor Dickinson referred to the up dated method now being used In Chicago where holding tanks are being utilized and sewage is trucked away from the to other means of disposal You can always Install a holding tank and truck away the sewage said Professor Whitely Its always possible but whether its acceptable or not is another situation According to Dr Dickinson a resort on take which had a seepage problem into the Lake is applying the same method of disposal A holding tank has been installed and the sewage Is trucked to the Guelph sewage treatment plant It solves the problem very simply said Dr Dickinson It was nothing that the proprietor Initiated It was the Health Department which helped him do It they worked with him on it Such a method Professor would be required for an Individual not for the entire village but certainly for the bad arena Is one possible solution Now the answer that comes back on this said Peter Is that It costs too much It costs too much to truck things around but If one really does a study of the of that versus those suggested for a tertiary plant Its an entirely different ball park It would be a great deal less its feasible Considering the nominal cost of operating a septic tank system thenilsfar more expensive it looks nbsurd but if you looked at the figures to put In and add to it the cost of private connections then youre talking about so much money almost other solution begins to be a possibility Its extremely expensive system he concluded adamantly The three engineers agreed that theres an attitude of reverting bock to the old time when trucking sewage awny is referred to but they can actual In the Immediate vicinity where this Is happening today The General Electric Company In are trucking industrial waste down to Ohio for Incineration and right now some of the Industries In having to clean out catch basins storm sewer systems for what Is termed as the worst kind of sewage Need new wells Queried as to whether It would be practical for Rockwood to install wntcr only Dr Dickinson felt that it would not be ad dressing oneself to the whole problem I think some of the well problems could be solved by putting in a few new wells he said and agreed with a statement from the Wellington Health representative that evidence indicates that people would use more water than In the past and If septic tanks arc ovcrlonded In the area the problem would be aggravated But he said think they dont really know whether Its practical or not in the interest of a small village considering the indebtedness theyd be placed in rather than apply somebodys hypothesis a more detailed Investigation is warranted to whether In fact it would be a problem In this particular case broke in Peter Chlsholm common sense would die that If we dont have the opportunity to carry out a detailed investigation then were going to be and were going to sny it looks as If further overloading the septic tanks Is going to be problem and you con sec the common sense in Hut ho continued to common sense and of this to very specific question where the implications of weak argument might bo totally unnecessary debt level to the municipality Id thnt for a village Involved with only 200 houses you darn well afford to spend house to see If you can save almost a million dollars mid this is the thing Professor Is not blaming the for Rock- woods situation He feels thnt they were to do specific Job and that it Is not the responsibility to refuse the trustees request for the system Because he put it just turn the argument for minute lcts the were requested by the township council to look at this problem and they came back within two weeks and said No you cannot afford sewers and you see the people in the Village of saying What does the know about our problem What the University men realty feel Is thai the should be constantly looking for ways of solving the problems of the smaller communities Dr Dickinson said thnt the sugges tion comes out thnt there is no other economic or practical of doing it but that Is misleading because are other other wnys now being used which are less expensive than the overall system the Is recommending They feel thnt too often the attitude of the designer of these systems is to just go ahead on a more or less prescribed basis and in this cose they approached the problem of waste management for the village of on about the same basis as they would approach it In the larger municipality of Toronto All three engineering specialists agree there are a number of lower levels of servicing which would solve problems yet still fnll short of either the scope of the system or the associated costs that are involved in the larger systems The attitude of the designer In this particular case Hugh Whitely has 1 feel been pres cribed pretty well by habit rather than trying to find a particular system for a particular problem He feels that the should do more research into the small community needs and come up with a system that would adapt itself to that communi ties environmental needs rather than prescribe one large expensive plan for every cose stand said lctei that nil the lrunteon originally requested sewer system and even the request may not Included Hie water system I can see from engineering point of view would be sensible do at once However I think that the fuel thnt they have slipped Into both sewers sewage treatment and water is an indication that they havent really given too much thought to thciHnlls of lie situation in Its feasibility whether it can be for what it re pi as Impact on Hie village River The question of sewers and water installation In the village of has aroused strong opposition from other residents who feel the new system will strongly the standard and purity of the River and Its natural environment However such attitudes have been allayed when local witnesses have said the river Is polluted and in many instances rnw sewnge is constantly being through the rock tnblo right down to the centre of the wnlershcd into which everything flows Professor feels thnt there is n much issue Die of the matter Is he said that nobody really knows exactly what the state of pollution is In the and that for this to be used as a consideration in the design of new waste management systems the OWRC Should have undertaken survey in the water course to allow the public to realize Ihnt there is base problem pollution A few years ago not loo many people would have been concerned about carrying out such a survey prior to the Installation of a sewage system but today people do require thnt the rivers arc at high level or at least at the status they ate at the time theyre put In According to Trevor Dickinson no guideline study bus been undertaken excepting one that was conducted at the University of from the school of ljigl when Maslern Thesis wns compiled on levels of the River between Rock and iuelpb Only a few other random samples in the only data that arc I know that the River is not polluted said Peter lUvautie I take my fishing we catch trull I right the head wind above the dam In Itoikwooil mid all the way down practically to the Conservation area Theres good fishing In that region of the river and the river certainly cant be polluted to the level Unit would do damage to these fish otherwise they wouldnt be there The Department of Lands and stock the River every spring and lliey stock It sin According lo Wlillely the only place on the there has been any indication of people pollution of which he Is is Just Immediately down the stream from Mills which he believes is related to about three septic tanks which authorities know are In trouble Some Regarding the In the direct vicinity of he agrees with some of the local authorities thnt there Is some indication that septic residue Is flowing into the river because the phosphorous levels that the have found ore higher than they should be from straight background levels Theyve had a few samples which were pretty close to one part per day phosphorous and in the River that is sub stantially above the natural levels you would expect from ml sources in water shed However he continued there Is very little associated with that level of phoNpliiiroim because there Isnt any algae problem right now In the iIranuirui He his theories partly on the foil that one can Ixittmn fish In the right In the middle of Itiickwood lYnleiiior feels that general opinions of the state of the Rivers pollution are worth exactly what they are costing Absolutely nothing he said And If one wants to find out whether the stream Is or not study be conducted At Hie present time there are no data avail- able permit us to assess what the likely water quality is going to be after the treatment plant goes In and there In ah- no reassurance that the sewage treatment plant la not going to ruin the river tin- men from the O W It are not going to guarantee that theres nut going lo he a problem after It goes in Now said lYofcssor these are Uie questions really that are central us lo whether we ought to ixocecd on this basts of Ignor ance this line when there are adequate scientific bases thai can be introduced Into the Investigation to Improve the whole Mow will proved installa tions affect the people In How will the people the area be Is the village planning set up adequately tn curtail growth Does want growth and Industry Can they afford it or can they afford not to have If Will the system remain adequate If should Inn ease In sin Critical eye The university men view Ihe situation and the alternatives with a critical eye The Wellington Health Unit representative live lleardwood described as a village geared for people lie could 15 year plnn depending on the planning He felt Hint should Insist on official planning and lining board prepared to net up proper protective bylaw and that a planned sewage expansion lirograiii Is necessary If said Mr It gradually It can be controlled and new Industry ami growth the same Professor considers that for llockwoods basic there Is no pat answer as to how growth within the village ought to he tailored to ability of Hie natural environ ment lo waste mm tho village Now I know lie said thnt tin capacity of the In Its present Male would lie overtaxed once Ihe vlllag over alHiiit Me feels that particular points should Is stressed fly and large he society has not begun to think In terms of limiting growth within a to the which are per- untied by the natural environ ment within they Nave to live HiIh In one of the Issues in the matter want their cake and It loo he They want limited growth and everything Unit goes along with Increasing the contribution to the gross but the same time they dont want to change things In the a village of approximately afford the million as presented by the Those who think they have the lire certain that potential population wlili tin- would would help however as IWesir list I NOTICE OFFICE CLOSED The office of Veterinarian DR F G 0HKES WILL BE CLOSED OCT to 27 INCLUSIVE OPEN OCT 28th DR G 0AKES BUY CANADA SAVINGS BONDS II youre looking beyond today plan ahead with Canada Savings Bonds Theyre the goahead way to save for the future without worry Easy to Buy You can buy them three different ways for cash where you 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