As per a couple of days ago I wrote here that the Region of Waterloo's green facade was slipping badly. I mentioned issues such as the recent announcement of region wide water shortages along with items such as the non transparency over the 700 acre land acquisition in Wilmot Township combined with the communications failure between the Region and the City of Cambridge over Amazon development fees, costing the Region one to three million dollars.
For years I have been wondering about salt mostly and Nitrates secondly. Well the salt has to do with winter safety on both roads and sidewalks and it is now throughout our groundwater at sometimes bizarre levels including 200 parts per million (mg/l). What is bizarre is the Regional annual Water Reports suggest that these high concentrations are not in contravention of Ontario Drinking Water Standards (ODWS) albeit they must be reported to the Public Health Department and the Min. of Environment every five years if they exceed 20 MG/L. They are WAY OVER that concentration.
Nitrates have just taken a much bigger significance for me after watching a video (You Tube) by retired hydrogeologist Dr. John Cherry titled "Groundwater is the Key to a Sustainable Earth". In his retirement I'm wondering if Mr. Cherry is feeling freer to attack what he views as "public policy" failures. The only other individual I've ever publicly heard use that term was Dr. Richard Jackson when he was the Chair of TAG (2015-2016). Dr. Jackson was referring to the cleanup errors and failures of Conestoga Rovers, the M.O.E. and Chemtura Canada here in Elmira, Ontario.
Dr. Cherry bluntly states that the ODWS criteria for Nitrates of 10 mg/litre is far too high. He believes that a drinking water standard closer to 1 mg/l (i.e. 1 part per million) is far safer and healthier but that the province has not enacted it as such because so much of Ontario groundwater now exceeds that concentration which would result in water systems being shut down. I have just taken a quick review of Cambridge and some of Kitchener water concentration levels and I can advise you that 1 mg/l concentrations of nitrates are routine whereas there are concentrations in some wells at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 parts per million (5 mg/l). Clearly Dr. Cherry knows his stuff and certainly here in Waterloo Region citizens drinking tap water who already have heart problems are exacerbating those problems drinking tap water with salt and nitrates in it. This is no small matter. Thank you Sandy for your continued disengagement (along with your regional colleagues) on this health matter.
Perhaps more and better lies are needed to calm any public outcry about the long term health implications of mixing trichloroethylene (TCE), chlorine, chloramines, HAA (Haloacetic Acids), THMs,(trihalomethanes), salt and nitrates in our water supply. Or deflect the debate by building a multi billion dollar pipeline to Lake Erie which will then cost us even more to treat and clean that polluted water (PCBs, dioxins, mercury, blue-green algae and so much more).
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