Comments Open Until September 26 on letstalknbp.ca
By John Francis,
Bruce Peninsula Press
The Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula (MNBP) has had water and wastewater concerns for decades. The two main population centres, Lion’s Head and Tobermory, both need expensive new systems.
Lion’s Head has an excellent water system that serves the village but no sewers at all. The presence of many dozens of tile beds in a small area on a hillside is a constant worry and an impediment to growth. The solution — a town sewage system — would be very expensive.
Tobermory’s situation is even worse: it has a tiny water system that mainly serves the MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry dock and a slightly larger sewer system that serves the ferry dock and a few dozen homes and businesses. All of the village’s homes and businesses either have wells or draw water from the harbour. Many wells are prone to running dry in the summer and there are concerns about drawing drinking water from an increasingly contaminated harbour. The solution: a town water system and an expanded town sewer system, would cost tens of millions of dollars.
MNBP desperately needs more housing but water and/or sewer capacity is a major limitation in both villages. There is an increasing sense that MNBP must find a way to fund these systems before the need becomes desperate.
MNBP commissioned the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) to conduct a needs and feasibility study. This has been a multi-year process but it is beginning to bear fruit. OCWA presented its third project update to MNBP Council at a Special Meeting on August 11. (The full report can be found online in the Agenda for that Special Meeting — northbrucepeninsula.ca, then select the three little bars in the upper right corner and select government then Council and Committees, then Agendas and Minutes).
MNBP presented that report to the public at public information sessions in Tobermory and Lion’s Head on August 27. About 30 people came out to the morning session in Tobermory; about 25 to the afternoon session in Lion’s Head. Public consultation also includes the letstalknpb.ca website, which offers comprehensive information and an easy way to comment (comments are open until September 26).
