Heidi Riedner of YorkRegion.com writes about a plan to treat York Region’s sewage in its original watershed, rather than pipe it off to Lake Ontario. The story is from November 3, 2011:
The ability of the wastewater treatment plants to remove pharmaceuticals and personal care products that are flushed down drains is one issue for Councillor Craig, who suggested the region go back to its original plan of discharge into Lake Ontario.
He is also concerned about the potential economic impact on the local tourism industry tied to Lake Simcoe.
“If we were to lose the lake as a tourism destination, the $250 million saved by re-routing the discharge into Lake Simcoe rather than Lake Ontario will look like a drop in the bucket,” he said.
But it appears the Lake Simcoe connection is being touted by regional staff as the preferred choice due to a number of factors, including an earlier completion time line of up to three years and costing about $300 million cheaper than new connections to the York-Durham system.
It also carries the support of various environmental groups, including the Ladies of the Lake.
Annabel Slaight, who has worked for years through her association with the group and most recently with the Splash water festival, says all innovative projects are very worthwhile looking at when it comes to the health of the lake and its watershed.
