Puslinch Township and its Mayor Dennis Lever want science – not emotion – to guide the way when it comes to water bottling operations in Wellington County.
Currently, Puslinch is dealing with Nestlé Waters Canada’s renewal application in Aberfoyle, and township council is aware of discussions surrounding the company’s plans for a well in Centre Wellington.
In response to concerns raised by the City of Guelph, Mayor Lever recently wrote a letter to Guelph’s mayor and council.
In the document Lever stated there has been much discussion recently about Permit To Take Water (PTTW) renewals in Aberfoyle and the proposed renewal of the permit for Nestlé Waters.
“Nestle is a key Puslinch and Wellington County employer, a significant taxpayer and an important member of our industrial community,” Lever wrote. “They have been very professional to deal with and support many local events.”
Lever added Puslinch provides formal comments on the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) registry and, “We have been consistent in recommending that all permits have a maximum of five years duration.”
Lever also noted the township has peer reviews done on mandatory water taking reports that are issued.
Puslinch will be providing comments on the proposed Nestlé Waters renewal when it is posted, Lever stated.
Lever also wanted Guelph and the community to look at the bigger picture.
“To put the Nestlé permit in perspective, according to the MOECC (Ministry of Environment and Climate Change) data from July, the number of active PTTWs in Puslinch was 106, totaling 542 million litres/day,” he stated.
“The City of Guelph’s total was 286 million litres/day and the aggregate industry total was 198 million litres/day. The Nestle permit was for 3.6 million litres/day.”
Lever said that next door to the Nestlé site is an aggregate operation with a permit for eight million litres/day and next door to that is another aggregate site with a permit for 23 million litres/day.
He added, “While some may say that the aggregate industry reuses the water for washing, the industry will agree that five to 10% is lost through evaporation.”
Lever continued, “Currently, more than 50% of Guelph’s water comes from wells in Puslinch. New policies and protection programs required by the Clean Water Act have been put in place to protect the wellhead areas around your wells. Addressing the costs associated with this has yet to be resolved.
“Approximately two-and-a-half years ago, representatives from Guelph visited Puslinch council to discuss the Guelph Water Supply Master Plan. We were invited to and attended meetings outlining the current situation, water conservation efforts, proposed growth and future water needs for your city.”
Two of the future options presented included an additional well in Puslinch in the Maltby and Victoria Road area and another in Guelph-Eramosa Township.
Lever stated, “It was also very clearly stated that Guelph would not proceed with any new well without the full support of the host municipality.
“Based on the now known significant impacts that Guelph’s water taking is having on Puslinch residents and potential impact on our industrial/commercial base, support for any additional water taking by Guelph in Puslinch is very unlikely.”
Lever said the city’s Water Supply Master Plan report outlines that Guelph has a number of wells that are not used due to various quality issues. The cost to remedy each situation is also included in the report.
He asked what plans the city has for those sites.
“Groundwater is a complex science and water taking needs to be looked at in a comprehensive manner and not focus on one permit. Even the extensive Tier 3 study that is currently underway has unanswered questions.
“Puslinch has and will continue to support important research in groundwater and decisions on water taking that are science-based.”
