COUNTY NEWS

Support for U-Links’ lake health pilot project

The County of Haliburton supported a $35,000 ask from U-Links for a pilot water quality monitoring program it has started this year.

U-Links director Andrew Gordon and Jim Prince, vice president of the Kennisis Lake Cottage Owners Association, spoke at a June 22 council meeting.

They said 10 lake associations have signed up: Kennisis, Redstone, Haliburton, Halls and Hawks, Kushog, Drag and Spruce, Miskwabi, Cedar and Kashagawigamog.

According to the presenters, the lake associations are worried about blue-green algae and nutrient loading from human activities, such as septic systems.

They think it’s important to monitor the water quality to identifying short and longterm trends; provide a report on the state of lake water quality, as well as for scientific support for decision-making on health, environmental and development issues.

Gordon and Prince said lake associations are finding the main barriers to performing their own testing are the cost of equipment and lab fees as well as testing expertise.

At a June 14 virtual Haliburton Water Quality Summit, they brought together scientific experts, lake associations, County staff and others with vested interests. The 40-plus attendees talked about parameters to sample, standard operating procedures, training, costs, logistics, date archiving and availability and how to make findings available to council and the public. This year’s goals (2022-23) have included: protocols for testing, guidelines, standard operating procedures, training, safety materials, costs and logistics, and actual testing.

The overall plan is to expand the program to other lakes with comprehensive summary reports at five-year intervals.

“We are initiating a water quality testing pilot in 2022, with the hopes that it can turn into a long-term, third party-run program,” Gordon and Prince said.

They estimated the cost at $120,000. Lake associations are kicking in $50,000, which left a balance of $70,000. U-Links pitched a $35,000 contribution while asking the County for $35,000. The County agreed upon entry into a fee-for-service agreement.

Contract for development charges study

Councillors endorsed a recommendation from director of planning Steve Stone to continue work towards establishing development charges.

Stone asked that a mandatory development charges background study be awarded to Watson and Associates for $115,610 (excluding taxes) and be funded from reserves. He added, “it is noteworthy that the study costs can be recovered through the development charges once they are in place.”

Development charges are fees collected from developers to help pay for the cost of infrastructure required to provide municipal services to new development, such as roads, transit, water and sewer infrastructure, community centres and fire and police facilities.

Stone said the firm is recognized across Canada as experts in their field. Coun. Carol Moffatt asked about timelines since the company is in great demand. Stone said they would be invited to a July 20 council meeting to make a presentation on their plans. Stone added the study includes the local municipalities in the County.

Readvertising procurement position

Council has decided to readvertise for a procurement person.