GRCA approves $31.4-million budget

The Grand River Con­ser­vation Authority board unanimously approved its budget Feb. 27.

The budget is $31.4-million -  about $2.3 million higher than 2008, with much of the increase due to one-time capital projects or special programs, such as source water pro­tection, that are covered entirely by the province, muni­cipalities, or other sources.

Revenue

The GRCA has three main sources of revenue:

- $9.5 million (33 per cent) from watershed municipalities, mostly raised through water bills or property taxes;

- $7.5-million (25 per cent) from grants, mostly from the provincial government;

- $13-million (43 per cent) from revenue it generates, such as from campground fees, planning fees, tree sales, hydroelectricity generation, rental property income and other sources.

Expenditures

The base operating budget - $17.8-million (56 per cent) - in­cludes ongoing programs, in­cluding flood prevention, environmental education, planning advice to municipalities and landowners, operation of trails, forest management and others.

Other expenditures include:

- $5.2 million for the source water protection program, to continue work to develop a source water protection plan un­der the Clean Water Act to implement the recommendations of the Walkerton Inquiry. All costs for this program are paid by the province

- $1.4-million to upgrade the Conestogo Dam near Dray­ton to increase discharge rates during extremely high flows;

- $265,000 for an update of the Grand River Basin Water Management Study, considering three issues: water quality, water supply, and flood control;

- $700,000 in grants to rural landowners under the Rural Water Quality Program, financ­ed by grants from watershed municipalities; and

- $300,000 to purchase environmentally sensitive land, covered by proceeds from earlier land sales.