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ttW HERALD Friday July 5 Features To the layperson this mass of bubbles found at the Georgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant on Road South probably doesnt mean much However these bubbles are really bacteria that eat sewage during the water treatment process Herald photo Ted Curtis Supervisor for the newly expanded Georgetown Wastewater Treatment Plant located on Road South says the effluent treated water Is of a higher quality than any other effluent produced at the other treatment plants in Halton Herald photo Treatment Plant is environmentally friendly Once waste is flushed down the toilet most people forget about it However if it wasnt for the Georgetown Wastewater Treat ment Plant on Mountainview Road South that waste would end up in Silver Creek The plant which recently went through an extensive expansion ensures residential and commer cial sewage generated in the Georgetown urban area enters Silver Creek bacteria free Because of the expansion which took three years to com plete and cost million the water effluent leaving the sewage plant and entering Silver Creek are of a better quality than the water in the creek said Engineer Don Morrier during an interview Wednesday at the plant The plant was expanded to treat million gallons per day of sewage said the plants Super visor Ted Curtis during the same interview Before the expansion the facility could only handle 25 million gallons during the same time period The sewage treatment facility needed to be expanded to process No vacation for Transition Team By LISA BOONSTOPPELP6T The Herald Researching and studying is over now for students but not for members of the Ministry of Education Transition Years Work Team who will spend the summer reviewing the reactions and recommendations from the Halton Board of Education and other Ontario school boards regarding proposed changes to education Halton school board trustees have just approved the Halton Transition Years Committee response to the transition years at their June meeting and the report complete with contribu tions from teachers school trustees and school staff will help the determine how ex actly they will restructure the transition years Grades 7 to9 The committee has been work ing on its response for over a year since the MOE announced in April 1389 it was going to establish a core curriculum for Grades 7 to eliminate stream ing in Grade and improve sup port for students in making the transition from elementary school to secondary school Im strongly supportive of the changes personally said Dean Fink assistant superintendent of instructional services for the board There is ample evidence to prove that the best teaching curriculum and resources in On tario tend to be consolidated into advanced levels of teaching With all students will receive the same education in Grade he said The principal of Acton High School is also supportive of destreaming He said with the present system advanced students lose out on learning valuable white the baste and general level students dont get the chance ad vanced level students do to learn about and discuss political and worldwide issues All these students live in the same world so they should be able to discuss with each other world issues no matter what school level they are in he said As well students shold learn daytoday match before theyre taught abstract math A report issued by the MOE in October stated the govern ment recognizes the problems Mr Calderelli is concerned about and thats why theyre proposing a core curriculum for Grades 7 and 9 that will provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge values and skills most valued by society Numerous research studies about the social and academic ef fects of streaming have produced no clear evidence to support the streaming of students at an early age the report states Rather the evidence suggests that streaming has negative effects on the social intellectual and emo tional development of early adolescents The fact the MOE is looking in- to the emotional side and social needs of students is a new way of approaching education said Mavis a guidance counsellor and associatehead of programming at Georgetown and District High School She said the high school is already planning to address these issues as part of their own response to the restructuring by establishing a monitor program for Grade 9 students to begin this September The program will allow a small group of Grade to meet with staff and senior students every second week and discuss special issues such as the first school dance along with academic issues The idea ij that if we can help the Grade 9s adjust to external changes it may ease the internal changes they also go through at this said With a destreamed and core curriculum Grade year students will be able to adjust to the pressures and demands of secondary school and be one year more mature before they choose what level of learning they wish to pursue she said This extra year for decision making is a change many teachers and staff at Georgetown High School view as an ad vantage said Ms ONeil The biggest concern teachers had with the proposed changes was if and how theyll meet the needs of all students revealed Ms ONeil Some teachers worry they may not be able to cover the same amount of content with a range of different abilities in the class she said Staff development is a major concern of the board as well said Mr Fink Teachers will be required to use different teaching strategies and will need a lot of guidance because it is difficult to change a style of teaching he said Were telling the MOE in the response guide theyll have to support the change to education by supporting staff develop ment Currently the education restructuring is only in the discussion stage Following the announcement of the restructur ing Initiatives a fiveyear Action Plan was developed by the MOE This September Ontario schools will be entering the second year of the plan In the first year of the plan the Halton Board of Education undertook four major projects related to the transition years at Aldershot Lord Elgin Robinson and White Oaks secon dary schools in Burlington and Oakville All projects are involved with a systemled initiative toward a more holistic curriculum at the Grade 7 and lvels stated the superintendent of instructional services for Halton Graeme Bar rett in a report to the board The MOE hasnt stated when it expects all schools to begin de- streaming and offering a core curriculum for its Grade student but board members say it could be as early as two years Say H saw it The Herald the extra sewage that will be generated when Georgetowns urban area reaches its population potential of predicted for 2020 Mr said the majority of the expansion cost was funded by developers who plan or have already started to build housing in the areas of Georgetown West and South Region Commissioner of Public Works Art said the expansion project Is a good example of how development can enhance what weve got In this case the quality of water in Silver Creek According to Mr Curtis the ef fluent coming out of the Georgetown sewage treatment plant is of a higher quality than effluent being produced at any of Haltons other wastewater facilities The plant produces two end products effluent which enters the Creek and sludge which is us ed by area farmers as fertilizer said Mr Morrier Generation of either product starts when the wastewater enters the plant Sewage first comes in contact with the plants two new screens which remove large pieces of debris including wood hockey sticks and other large objects These objects are disposed of in a landfill Next the inorganic material in the sewage such as stone and sand is removed This material is alsolandfilled At this point the sludge process is activated said Mr Morrier The sewage contains bacteria which eats the organic material At a certain point the bacteria falls to the bottom of the liquid sewage Once the bacteria falls to the bottom of the liquid sewage it is collected and becomes raw sludge The raw sludge is then diverted from the liquid sewage and further processed to remove any diseasecausing bacteria The end product is referred to as stabalized sludge which is suitable to be used as fertilizer When the sludge is collected per cent of the inorganic and organic material has been removed from the sewage that originally entered the plant This liquid is processed through a series of filters The final step calls for the liquid to be treated with ultraviolet light which kills any remaining harm ful bacteria in the effluent Most wastewater treatment facilities use chlorine but Mr Curtis snid ultraviolet light is safer to peo ple Since chlorine is a chemical it must be administered very carefully or it can contaminate the effluent said Mr Curtis Under this scenario the possibili ty exists the effluent might be contaminated before entering a body of water Mr Curtis called the ultra violet light system state of the art technology and predicted it will eventually replace all chlorine systems Mr described the ef fluent entering the Silver Creek as clear and sparkling and if people dont believe this they should visit the plant to see for themselves FLYERS Watch for these MONEYSAVING flyers inside this edition of THE HERALD CANADIAN TIRE ACTON AND GEORGETOWN FULL DISTRIBUTION 4Mf GEORGETOWN FOOD MARKET PARTIAL DISTRIBUTION If you did not your flyer please cad our circulation department Monday Friday am S pm