CYNTHIA DOUGHTY (MOE) THE REAL DEAL

This is not the first time that I have sung the praises of Cynthia Doughty, hydrogeologist, for the Ontario Ministry of Environment. She has done it again in a letter to Jason Rice, Regional Project Manager (MOE) dated June 20, 2019. Of course the question is how much will her employers (the MOE) support her. On page 2 Ms. Doughty states "However, for at least the last three years, the UACS has temporarily lost hydraulic containment." Then on page 3 she states "The UACS has not consistently maintained hydraulic containment since operation began in 1997." Holy crap ! That is huge.

The UACS is the Upper Aquifer Containment and Treatment System. It is the reviled and long criticized "least expensive and least effective " containment system that Uniroyal and CRA installed in 1997 to stop the grossly contaminated upper aquifer discharges to the Canagagigue Creek. Uniroyal, Chemtura etc. have bragged about it's effectiveness for decades. It appears that if it had been done properly it could have been much more effective.

I have been commenting in this Blog for years as well as at the last CPAC that the so called difference in surface water elevation in the creek and the elevation of the nearby groundwater was inadequate. I even recall discussions with Eric Hodgins of the Region of Waterloo where he defended the very small differential in water elevations as likely being adequate. He was wrong and I was right and this is not by a great deal the only time that citizen scientists or simply well informed residents and citizens have spoken truth to those in authority, only to be ignored and marginalized.