Because this proposed quarry…

Because this proposed quarry is located in an aquifer recharge area for Waterloo Region I'm very much opposed to it. A significant portion of the region's water supply originates in this area. The future long term growth of this region, especially the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, depends upon the reliability of our water supply.

It's essential that we protect our aquifers and the recharge areas that supply them. By removing the sand and gravel from such a large area as this proposed quarry we lose natural water filtration which potentially allows contaminants in. With the large increase in heavy trucks in the area from this pit the possibility of contaminants, in particular oil and gas leaks, only increases. That's especially concerning for local homes, farms, and businesses that rely on their own wells instead of the regional system. The increase in dust, noise, and wear and tear on the local roads would also have a negative effect on local farms, the environment, and all life in the area. There is no way to return such an area to its natural state after the gravel has been removed, it's the sand and gravel itself that makes the area so critical to our water supply.

While this proposal claims it won't dig beneath the water table there is currently a provincial government proposal to allow aggregate quarries to do so in the future. Even if this government doesn't proceed with such a proposal future governments might. That possibility makes keeping gravel pits off critical aquifer recharge areas such as this doubly important.

We can't be certain exactly what effects worsening climate change will have on our future water supply, especially as demand increases with the region's population growth. Increasingly extreme weather conditions are predicted which could include years of drought, or near drought conditions. In evaluating this proposal it'd be foolish and a harm to our region's future prosperity to ignore the potential impacts of climate change on something so critical as our water supply.

There's a risk of setting a precedent of allowing a gravel pit on such critical land by approving this project. There has already been too much damaging disturbance of aquifer recharge areas making it even more important that we carefully, and permanently, protect the areas we have left. What we need is legislation akin to the Greenbelt that permanently protects our remaining aquifer recharge areas from harmful activities.

Only one business will benefit from this proposed gravel pit, but many more, the local farms in particular, stand to lose from it proceeding. The costs from increased road repairs and harm to the environment costs everyone. The entire region's safe, reliable water supply, now and in the future, would be put at risk by approving this gravel pit, or any other in a recharge area.

This is clearly a case where the common good, now and in the future, must be protected ahead of the profits of any one company or industry.