Headwaters and recharge…

   Headwaters and recharge zones need protection as well as the whole of the moraines like the Orangeville one.

  With more and more population coming into the Grand River Watershed, the already fragile and vulnerable river and its tributaries will be burdened even more than they are presently.  The protections and standards  put into place are critical to maintain the ecosystems along the length of the watershed.

  The groundwater that is the main drinking water water source for much of the population along the Grand River is also in need of protection especially from commercial uses that remove the water from the watershed altogether. According to a study including Dr. Tom Gleason of University of Victoria, aquifers only recharge by about 6 percent in a fifty year period.  We have no idea of the water quantity in most of these aquifers, or their recharge areas, and we do not fully understand their interconnections with the rivers and streams. Until we can do this research, protecting this water is the least we can do.

  The Greenbelt area provides a degree of protection but needs to include more of the Grand River Watershed and recharge areas.  This would include more of Centre Wellington, for example.

 This extension of the Greenbelt is crucial.  Expanding the area even further is as well.

  Short term thinking and planning have no place here, nor do shortsighted perspectives!

[Original Comment ID: 211559]