JIGS HOLLOW GRAVEL PIT AGAIN

Yesterday's Woolwich Observer carrys this story titled "New Woolwich council joins an old gravel pit battle". As expected the operator's (Kuntz Sand & Gravel & Preston Sand & Gravel) have begun talks with Woolwich's planning department to see what is involved in them getting a zoning change permitting below water table extraction from their pit directly beside the Grand river in Winterbourne. Winterbourne resident Soyna Sommerville spoke to Council last Tuesday nite stressing the environmental damage done by a below water table gravel pit in that location. As we learned from the Hunder Pit OMB hearing, topsoil that is moved from one location to another and or simply piled and left to sit loses some of its' value for future crops. In other words the quality of soil deteriorates by these disruptions. Ms. Sommerville further suggested that a below water table pit would also adversely affect nearby farm and residential wells. The Winterbourne Valley is indeed a beautiful location and as nasty as an above ground pit would have been this intended increase in the size, depth and duration of the pit is many times worse. I advise that the proposed operators either wait out the high water table as Climate Change and Global Warming are on their side unless they've got the OMB back in line and in their pocket. The OMB surprisingly turned down the Hunder Pit granted for a number of reasons and it was an above water table pit. This new plan should be a non-starter but stranger things have happened.