Ministry to poison brook

Ministry to poison brook
Scientists take drastic measures to stop spread of round goby into Lake Simcoe

Oct 13, 2005



Provincial scientists are going to poison a five-kilometre stretch of Pefferlaw Brook next week to kill the round goby.
Representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources at a public meeting last week revealed they will take the unprecedented measure to prevent the spread of the foreign invading fish into Lake Simcoe, where it could devastate the $200-million recreational fishery.

They will use the pesticide Rotenone to kill all gill-breathing species in the river, but remove as many native fish as possible beforehand by using a stunning electroshock and transfer them out of the treatment area. Cages holding fish will be monitored during the treatment period to ensure there is a 100-per-cent kill rate, the audience was told.

Electroshock is not effective to remove gobies because they do not have a swim bladder and will not float to the surface.

Ministry scientist Peter Waring said other options to eradicate the round goby, first found in the river last year, were considered, but the use of Rotenone was the only effective one.

The voracious invader "has got a number of things that scare the hell out of me, quite frankly. This is not like anything we have in this part of the world," Mr. Waring explained.

Since being discovered below the dam last year, gobies have since been found near the mouth of Pefferlaw Brook within sight of the lake.

Mr. Waring warned if action isn't taken, the goby will be in the lake next year and beyond any control measures.

Other species, fowl and wildlife are not affected and there is no danger to human beings, although residents were cautioned to stay off the water. Boaters who have to use the river will be escorted by conservation officers.

The river is home to three major marinas, part of the Peninsula Resort, the Church of the Nazarene camp and many homes with personal docks. The lake, just off the mouth of the river, attracts thousands of American anglers every year.

The cost of the Rotenone alone will be at least $50,000.

The chemical will be applied by specialists from the department of Fisheries and Oceans tentatively starting Monday and lasting two to three days.

Between 80 and 90 per cent of fish are expected to be caught and live released. There will be disposal sites run by volunteers from the Pefferlaw Anglers Club and the Georgina Sportsman Alliance.

Handling dead fish is not a hazard, the audience was assured. The chemical is expected to dissipate in hours and, used as directed, poses no hazard to the public, literature given to the audience stated.

However, Peter Sibbald Brown of the Lakewatch Society warned after the meeting the experiment is fraught with danger.

"We are very concerned with the lack of a risk assessment and the fact that a screening -- being the lowest level of environmental assessment -- is under way," he said.

Rotenone contains a "litany of toxic petro-chemicals, volatile organic compounds and carcinogens that will also end up in the water and the air, he added.

Government scientists "can't provide substantive evidence that this risky chemical experiment will eradicate goby from these waters", he said.

"Liquid rotenone treatment has gone wrong before and often," he said, citing a case on Utah's Freemont River in 1991 that killed aquatic life along a 35-mile stretch, including sections of Capitol Reef National Park.

Round gobies are a European import first found in the St. Clair River in 1990, where they were dumped with a ship's ballast, said Francine MacDonald of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

They have become the dominant fish species in Lake Erie with their insatiable appetite, aggressive behaviour and ability to spawn several times in a season. They successfully compete with native species such as perch and bass for food and habitat and eat their eggs.

They have become so numerous in parts of lakes Erie and Ontario that 100 have been measured in one square metre.

Neglecting rivers affects health of Lake Simcoe

Ministry to poison brook
Scientists take drastic measures to stop spread of round goby into Lake Simcoe

Oct 13, 2005



Provincial scientists are going to poison a five-kilometre stretch of Pefferlaw Brook next week to kill the round goby.
Representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources at a public meeting last week revealed they will take the unprecedented measure to prevent the spread of the foreign invading fish into Lake Simcoe, where it could devastate the $200-million recreational fishery.

They will use the pesticide Rotenone to kill all gill-breathing species in the river, but remove as many native fish as possible beforehand by using a stunning electroshock and transfer them out of the treatment area. Cages holding fish will be monitored during the treatment period to ensure there is a 100-per-cent kill rate, the audience was told.

Electroshock is not effective to remove gobies because they do not have a swim bladder and will not float to the surface.

Ministry scientist Peter Waring said other options to eradicate the round goby, first found in the river last year, were considered, but the use of Rotenone was the only effective one.

The voracious invader "has got a number of things that scare the hell out of me, quite frankly. This is not like anything we have in this part of the world," Mr. Waring explained.

Since being discovered below the dam last year, gobies have since been found near the mouth of Pefferlaw Brook within sight of the lake.

Mr. Waring warned if action isn't taken, the goby will be in the lake next year and beyond any control measures.

Other species, fowl and wildlife are not affected and there is no danger to human beings, although residents were cautioned to stay off the water. Boaters who have to use the river will be escorted by conservation officers.

The river is home to three major marinas, part of the Peninsula Resort, the Church of the Nazarene camp and many homes with personal docks. The lake, just off the mouth of the river, attracts thousands of American anglers every year.

The cost of the Rotenone alone will be at least $50,000.

The chemical will be applied by specialists from the department of Fisheries and Oceans tentatively starting Monday and lasting two to three days.

Between 80 and 90 per cent of fish are

Massive sewage pipe called threat to water

Massive sewage pipe called threat to water

CANADIAN PRESS

Drinking water for millions of people could be poisoned and some of the most sensitive ecology in southern Ontario damaged if part of a 100-kilometre sewer system between Lake Simcoe and Lake Ontario is built, critics said today.

But proponents called that fearmongering, saying much of the system has long been in place and the project, involving only a small part of the system, is perfectly safe.

As much as 750 million litres of sewage a day would flow from Holland Landing for treatment in Pickering by way of the so-called Big Pipe, which is up to three metres in diameter and buried as deep as 45 metres.

"They're putting a human sewage sewer full of crap and E. coli right in the middle of the inter-regional drinking-water aquifer," said Jim Robb, general manager of the Friends of the Rouge Watershed.

"It's a really stupid plan."

Laying the pipe requires the removal of large amounts of groundwater from the ecologically sensitive Oak Ridges moraine.

Critics said about 30 billion litres of groundwater has already been drained, with a similar amount expected to be taken over the next two years — one of the largest water-takings in Canadian history.

Water levels in the aquifer have fallen about 45 metres in Markham, more than 120 wells have run dry, and streams are drying up, said Robb.

Critics also worry the pipe will drive decades of urban sprawl across a sensitive swath of undeveloped land.

Opponents, including federal NDP Leader Jack Layton and some area Liberal MPs, argue a proper environmental assessment was never done and both the provincial and federal governments dropped the ball.

Bruce MacGregor, York Region's works commissioner, said the fuss is about nine kilometres of proposed pipe and accused opponents of putting out misleading information.

"They're an anti-growth group — they're upset about our urban communities growing at all," said MacGregor.

"The benefits of these types of projects by far outweigh any temporary impacts."

While Robb and others pressed a Toronto committee today to join the fight against the pipe, York Regional chairman Bill Fisch said the project "posed no threat" to drinking water.

If the line were to break, water would leak in, not sewage out, he said.

In addition, wells that have run dry returned to normal after construction, he said.

John Wilkinson, parliamentary assistant to provincial Environment Minister Laurel Broten, said this week that growth in York region was straining its sewage system, "perhaps putting lives at risk."

But Ontario New Democrat Marilyn Churley accused the provincial government of hypocrisy.

The project is in direct conflict with Liberal promises to protect water sources in light of the May 2000 tainted-water tragedy that killed seven people in Walkerton, Churley said.

"This is another Walkerton in the making," said Churley.

"Even a very small leak in a pipe carrying several hundred million litres of sewage and E. coli every day would be catastrophic."

Lake weed removal running late

The town's lake weed harvesting operations are behind schedule.
Contractor Inland Aquatics was running into heavier weed concentrations than expected as operations began last month at the south end of Cook's Bay, chief administrative officer Stan Armstrong said.

"The contractor said the weeds are considerably heavier than last year," Mr. Armstrong said, adding operations were expected to reach the mouth of the Maskinonge early this week.

As in previous years, weeds from further offshore were pushed in by wind after the weeds close to shore were removed.

Inland's mechanized hydraulic harvest and raking system had been expected to complete the sweep north to about Rayner's Road in about two weeks.

Inland is the same company hired to do the job last year, but had to pull out early because of low water levels.

The town program does not include the Maskinonge or Pefferlaw rivers, or other shoreline areas that have also been experiencing increased weed growth caused by the excess phosphorus and other nutrients entering the lake.

Homeowners taking floating weeds out themselves should put them in clear plastic bags and leave them out with the other trash and recyclables on garbage day.

Larger quantities can be taken to the waste transfer station on Warden Avenue.

The town will pay the tipping fee.

Council has budgeted $100,000 for the weed harvest.

For more on the causes of excessive weed growth in Lake Simcoe and what can be done, see the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority website www.lsrca.on.ca or the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, www.rescuelakesimcoe.org

Simcoe Beaches Cleaner This Year

Beach postings in Georgina because of E. coli contamination dropped sharply this summer compared to last year, thanks to the hot, dry weather.
Beaches along Lake Simcoe and Cook's Bay were posted 78 times, compared to 203 times the year before, according to figures released by York Region public health.

Last year's cool, wet summer was the worst since testing began in 1996. Beaches are posted when levels of E. coli bacteria are greater than the provincial guideline of 100 E. coli per 100 millilitres of water. This summer's E. coli counts ranged from 10 per 100 millilitres of water to a high of 720.

As a comparison, readings in parts of flooded New Orleans topped 60,000 E. coli.

Along with cleaner beaches, there was an increase in visitors to waterfront parks this summer, leisure services manager Faye Richardson said.

"We were up at all the parks. It was a fantastic summer," she said.

There were few problems with crowd control and the paid duty officers the town hired kept things in check, she said. Revenues were up as well, Ms Richardson said, although the final figures have yet to be reported.

"We did hire extra staff for security reasons," she said.

Becky Hester, York's senior public health inspector, said there were changes to the testing program this year to make it more efficient.

This summer, testing was done every Wednesday, instead of twice weekly. Beaches that tested positive for E. coli were re-tested the next day.

"By sampling and then re-sampling the beaches that are posted, we were able to lift some postings before the weekend. We ended up sampling a number of beaches more than we did last year," she said.

Bacteria can be increased by seasonal and storm runoff, large populations of waterfowl, warm water temperatures, boating and domestic pet wastes or malfunctioning private sewage disposal systems.

"The quality of recreational waters is best estimated by looking at trends over time, for example, seasonal and yearly," Ms Hester said.

In addition to the testing, permanent rainfall signs were posted at all beaches warning swimmers not to go into the water for 48 hours after a heavy rainfall -- about an inch or more, she said, citing the increased potential of E. coli contamination being flushed into the lake.

Town-owned De La Salle Park again topped the list for posted beaches with 21, compared to 23 times last year, followed by Willow Beach with 17, the same as last year, and Jackson's Point Beach with 13, compared to 21 times last year.

The town's North Gwillimbury Park on Lake Drive and Varney Road continued its six-year string of being cleanest beach in Georgina with no postings. Port Bolster showed the biggest improvement over last year with five postings compared to 42.

Other beaches (last year's figures in brackets): Balfour Beach, 1 (5); Claredon Beach, 1 (28); Franklin Beach 4 (9); Holmes Point 1 (14); Island Grove 2 (0); Keswick 3 (0); Glenwoods 6 (30); Peninsula Resort 1 (7); Willow Dock 3 (7).

In York Region, Sunset Beach on Lake Wilcox was the most contaminated with 21 postings, tying De La Salle, while Shadow Lake in Whitchurch-Stouffville was the cleanest, with zero postings.

Beach water testing ended last week and will resume next June.

Pesticides, lawns and the lake

As of 2007, Toronto residents will be fined for spraying pesticides on their lawns. Why aren't we following suit?
I am amazed and disappointed to see how many residents and businesses in York Region are still spraying their lawns.

Not only do we breathe these chemicals in, we drink and bathe in them after they leech or run off into groundwater, rivers and lakes (Lake Simcoe from the Oak Ridges Moraine north, Lake Ontario from the Oak Ridges Moraine south).

Glyphosate (found in Roundup and Touchdown) can cause spontaneous abortion in humans and is highly toxic to fish. 2,4-D (found in weed and feed products, Killex and Par III) causes reduced sperm count and/or abnormal sperm and, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, may be linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and prostate cancer.

It has been found in residential carpet dust up to one year after application outdoors on lawns. Mecoprop (found in Killex, Par III and Trillin) has been linked to cancer of soft tissues and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The list goes on.

It is high time everyone stopped spraying. For excellent tips on how to keep your lawn healthy without using pesticides, visit www.citytoronto.on.ca/health/pesticides/bylaw www.citytoronto.on.ca/health/pesticides/bylaw