The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

In my view By Lorraine Root In my estimation we are Jumping the gun by acknowledging the problem before we really know if it exists I have always felt that the big issue here not whether we should utilize the River a dispensation vehicle but whether It needs to be used at all If pollution is as rampant as we have been led to believe by the WelllngtonDufferin Health representatives how then as has been said many times before have residents been surviving In the meantime It has been ail years since the Initial suggestion of pollution and how many epidemics has Rockwood suffered How many wells has the Health Department demanded be closed down or repaired I feel that his should have been an established fact before costly proposals were considered and then if determined without any reasonable shadow of doubt it could well mean that could not afford not to have the proposed system Installed Latent resident reactions after the last meeting of the O M B have been curious Rather like the proverbial lock the barn after the horse has been stolen Many of those attending were perturbed that the 1 issue had been cost of servicing around the conservation park rather than determining Rockwood degree of pollution and whether it could not be cleaned up individually Sadly enough since the initial con alterations were presented to the B many findings hove been exposed such as rusty oil drums being utilized as septic tanks but disregarded by the local health inspector Such disparities it has been learned are not unusual in but those who knew felt disinclined to say it the way it was and still is The local health inspector has admitted knowledge of such deficiencies referring to the village possible state of pollution as too late The question here is who is too late the Health department If we must Joy and Lew Lord are two area residents who with Joy mother Mrs Pete Haire live year round in their home on a site directly facing the River They ted that it is difficult to say which And can we take the word of who jump on such potential health hazards as soon as It No one has proven to Rockwood villagers whole agreement that it is too late and one local septic tank operator admits to polluted areas but contests the impossibility of its rectification It can be cleaned up and handled properly cleared up within a year said A Varcoe who has in the past worked on areas in the village where severe difficulties had been but with proper piping placement the potential pollution was permanently ill im i rated Dunn the winter the Ratepayers sent a letter to the village trustees requesting that they take of the Ontario Governments Winter Works program using unemployed nun to count and check on problem wills within the village Hits letter wis never answered said representative Don Gordon Worn this writers point of view that would only have been com pounding the original felony If so called experts from the Wellington Unit could not handle the job fluent bow could inexperienced laymen do it in better unless under close scrutiny and inspettion It would seem to me to be the responsi of the Health Department to for their own saving insist that such a project be tarried out through them at their expense only this tune with more efficiency If this had been done in the first place with ek minus made on every individual con residents would then know which to go the village is polluted then the proposals will hive to be acceptable but surely cannot pushed into such needless expense Inconvenience and pott mini environmental losses without positive verification As it stands if the proposed project is computed many will question its necessity but if proven to their satisfaction villagers will accept such installations with and even attempt to under stand the high costs and their feasibility we must JOY AND LEW LORD the decision will go but that if it is in favor of sewers and water installations urban ironment will change radically In their estimation Rockwood problems has never been proven as dual nor has there been enough investigation as to easy solutions other than the expensive installations proposed II of course the village has no other alternative but to use the they are prepared to accept such necessity but can t see how a small village could afford the costs The Lords are also in accord that it would be ludicrous to give special consideration to residents utilizing the Conservation park only during the summer months over the year round area residents below the camp sites including those directly on the river and the villagers m Eden Mills Environmentalists at hear both Lew and Joy feel that it is very necessary that small Canadian villages should be preserved rather than pressured into fast growth ALTON ONTARIO MAY e a TURBULENT SECTION of the southern Ontario The area is potted with River as it pouts over a limestone shelf near round not holes left by retreating glaciers of the ruins of the Harris woolen mills shows the the Ice Age Photo by H Coles terrain which has made the area unusual in Will the River to assimilate nutrients pound out by tht propositi water pollution control plant a hotly debated subject in Hock wood and environs these tht Municipal Boird the arguments for and against tht proposals supported by village trustees and opposed by from district Rivers have played a lnrjt part in Canadian history and the Era mast is no It wis the rivu and Its source of power which attracted the first sutlers They soon had a grist mill for farmers who hewed trees to make room for erops in the Upper wilderness The Fromosn has had several mills on its banks including one owned by the Harris family which mode world famous woolen blankets were also saw and oatmeal mills along the stream and their ic mill races which in turn were fed by reservoirs established to save water fin low water periods is out of thest reservoirs now situated inside the Conservation a heritage from pioneers which is a pawn in the present seesaw argument about Die assimilative capacities of the Ontario Water Resources engineers contend thit any sewage outlet pipe should 1 located downstream from the ina because large still areas of water the Inrge reservoir In the park tend to act as traps for nutrients and faster growth of Hie engineers argue that the River will not be harmed if the effluent pipe runs Into the strenm at a point below the conservation where the current is Moving water provides continuous dilution and mixing for the effluent and reaeratlon rales arc higher in still bodies of water Hie valley of the River it flows through is one of the most scenic in Ontario It Is if some giant took a piece of the rugged north and trans planted it in Ontario In reality the giant was the Ice Age Retreating glaciers curved the nigged terrain and left the river a sometime tortuous sometimes quiet stream which harbors large trout on its gravelly shoals Residents along the river listen to the arguments on both sides of the proposals but generally oppose the Introduction of sewage system which they feel will change the present face of the river and upset the ecological balance of one of the few pure streams left In the southern part of the province Hit Free Press this week listens to their side of the argument as writer Lorraine Root interviews those along the river and adds her own views on the subject as well A delightful village will vanish John and Jessie Lawrence in looking for a summer home In for retirement purchased the former Mae Bird Sanctuary properly 10 years ago It is situated on what was considered only unpolluted water in Wellington County and they have worked hard getting Dungs into shape They enjoy visitors their but run facilities but are concerned that the prospect of sewer installations using the River as vehicle will it make it less enticing plus possibilities It as Jones of the Woods toek Company pointed out at last Monday session the machinery should break down We re situated on a slow movuif section of the river said Mr And sewer will move down I in tht standing water it tint timely moves Hie ijiwrenee presently arc IXikvilli residents who Inhabit their Indian trail home for several months from sprlnc until hill just below the Hob rt Hamilton properly they are lighted with their area of rusti and ire concerned il the proposed last illations could have on their of lift Mrs I iwrtnct feels that they hi on an rather than a waterway t make sense John it it uldn t be polluted or else ire they so anxious to it pass below the wood village pollution problems providing it is taken onsen Park are proved and the through the Conservation park Rive the only vehicle for He feels however thatif Itock dispensation it would be if it good for the Authority MR AND MRS LAWRENCE Ltitn it good enough for us says the river resident who will In thai i use be happy to let it go through Also aware of the village growth which the new system could generate Mr Lawrence thinks mat with and moving in together It would be cheaper to pipe to that rulhcr than have carry tlit million cost Referring to other areas of rapid growth the couple feel that and sewage Installations will attract industry which in turn will attract people and continue In such a cycle until delightful Canadian village will disappear absorbed by progress In many cases the original grass root residents will be forced to move out say the Ijiwrences to be replaced by those affluent people who can handle the costs and are looking for a place In the country in which to live would live close to outlet BETTY LOU CLARK How does it feel to in the wake of a sewage plant elimination pipe John of Rock wood are nonplussed at the prospect of the recent proposals ind con imagine that summer residents should he given consideration over round citizens A family who moved in to the village area during the past four years the adapted to Rock wood life and are well part of its community activities In agreement with innumerable area residents they feel that the pollution problem of has never been proven and would like to see more investigation to prove its feasibility the Clark family came to the Rockwood area from Waterdown near Burlington adapting quickly to Its rural environment and contributing to its general fellowship and corps Active the local Anglican church of St Johns they participated in home and school endeavours recreation committee annual carnivals the and Area Ratepayer Association and Mrs Clark herself was the chairman of the environmental Rockwood who first attempted to introduce Canadian problems of pollution to the village residents Their home on the River is directly below the ConservaUon Park and the pipe which will skirt the park summertime swimming area will come into the river just above their property line Breakdown possibilities are the main worry Bui they do not relish living dost to sewage Die are worried that the of handle tost of such a venture nil feel that line much less expensive matters to similar problems which are already utilized Mrs irk that she has in possession detailed information on a carbon filtration system which is used In both in I centres Hi is information was supplied to her by the chairman of the W John Root Hit Clarks feel that there has been no attempt to take remedial measures to clear up the problem initially In West Vancouver said Mrs Clark the communities having septic systems hire a septic pump operator who pumpsout all septic In fact ihcysald the water tanks every three years and this would be pure enough to drink expense is covered through local from the pipe where the water taxes entered the river Claries are also concerned about misinformation that was given two years ago by the engineers of the 0 R C to delegates of A E when they visited in Toronto At that time we were assured that there would be no pollution of the river The now admits that there will be pollution formation of algae and possible odour under given circumstances Mrs Clark a big concern was when she made enquiries to elected representatives and such were not recognized but ignored THE can be serene too as it is here along the activities The stream Is a for anglers after elusive scenic Valley Road before it plunges over the falls into an trout and which ecologtsts contend could be harmed if other stretch that empties into the reservoir used by Rock- sewage effluent is poured into the stream Cotes wood Conservation Park for swimming and other aquatic