www.independentfreepress.com Ted Brown............... 7 Recipe .................... 16 Sports .................... 20 Directory .......23, 24 Classifieds .....25-27 50 Cents (+ GST) Circulation: 22,800 FRIENDLY FIRE The Ontario boys' under-14 team puts on an exhibition at Cedarvale PAGE 20 WHEELS.CA Look inside today's section for the latest news from the auto world 8-PAGE SECTION 56 Pages THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS By CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Soon the water tap will turn on in Georgetown, and many developers are lining up to jump into the pool. At Monday's council meeting, Halton Hills Director of Planning and Sustainability Bruce MacLean announced that Halton Region has confirmed the Town will be able to allocate 1,200 SDEs to the development industry for construction of homes and businesses in the near future. An SDE-- Single Detached Equivalent-- is how a water system capacity is measured. It combines both the water and wastewater services using the daily average volume of water used and discharged in a three-bedroom single detached household-- about 1 cubic metre/day. Georgetown is serviced by water from a groundwater well system but that capacity has been constrained. The last time, a significant amount of water was released for construction occurred in 2005. For several years, Halton Region has been doing studies on expansions and improvements to the well field system at Cedarvale and Lindsay Ct. (still ongoing). But earlier this year Halton Region received a conditional permit to take water from the Cedarvale well field. Permission was given for 2,400 SDEs but that's conditional on monitoring of the first 1,200 SDEs released for development-- and the results must satisfy the Ministry of Environment before the remainder is allocated. The 1,200 SDEs will be divided Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper THURSDAY, July 22, 2010 Town can allocate (some) water for growth three ways: · 750 to a residential pool for housing units in Georgetown South; · 250 to a residential infill pool in old Georgetown and hamlets · 200 to a non-residential (industrial, commercial and institutional) pool "The three pools are designed to assist in covering all needs in the community," said Director of Planning and Sustainability Bruce MacLean. "Strategically, we believe we've covered all our bases. The problem is we don't have all the water we need." Some of the developments in the queue include more than 800 units in Georgetown South, 184 units on the former Upper Canada College lands off Hwy. 7, 142 Eden Oak townhouses See DEVELOPERS, pg. 3 Residents warned: Beware the poisonous hogweed Scaling new heights Kyle Thomson, 12, gingerly works his way up the rock climbing wall at the Halton Regional Police Services organized Mentoring Youth (leadership) Camp, at St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic School Tuesday. Known as MY Camp, the program fosters positive opportunities for youth through mentoring, education and relationship building with the police and the community. Developed by the team of Educational Services police officers, MY Camp offers a fun camp-style environment, for Halton youth entering Grades 7 and 8. Photo by Ted Brown REFINANCING? PURCHASING? By CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer On Third Line, between 10 and 15 Sideroads, snow fencing lines a stretch of road on both sides with large red warning signs posted. The fencing is there to protect residents from a hazardous mammoth plant called giant hogweed (heracleum mantegazzianum). This Scotch Block site is home to a massive infestation of the plant, which can cause photo-dermatitis or photosensitivity. The contact with its clear sap can See RESIDENTS, pg. 12 Research is being done on this batch of giant hogweed located on Third Line in Halton Hills. Photo by Ted Brown 5 YEAR FIXED. CALL FOR DETAILS. 3.99% FSCO #10259 Division of 1490845 Ont. Ltd. Family Owned & Operated for 42 years! PA I N T · WA L L PA P E R · L I G H T I N G · H O M E D E C O R GEORGETOWN MARKETPLACE MALL 905-877-4193 BOB WOODS, Broker (905) 877-1490 360 Guelph St., Georgetown