sewageplant; theapplicationof agricultural
Water – we can’t live without it, and
and non-agricultural “source material” to
sometimes we can’t live with it, either.
land, the application, handling and storage
Adam’s ale is as essential to our daily
of fertilizer, pesticides and road salt; the
lives as a cell phone, a laptop and high-
storageof snow; thehandlingandstorageof
speed Internet. But whenwe get toomuch
fuel, a dense non-aqueous phase liquid, an
of agood thing,we canbe rapidlyawash in
organic solvent. Plus, be wary of the
problems.
“management of runoff that contains
As this isbeingwritten, the slushseason
chemicals used in the de-icing of aircraft.”
has peaked. Roads and basements are
Other threats are “an activity that takes
flooded; icy parking lots are claiming
This should make us think
water from an aquifer or a surface water
victims; cars’ electrical circuitry is going
body without returning the water taken to
nuts because of all the moisture; water
the same aquifer or surface water body, an
jeopardizing the safety of travellers.
courses are coursing at high levels;
Raisin-SouthNationDrinkingWaterSource
activity that reduces the recharge of an
A five-year comprehensive science
pedestrians are drenched by passing
Protection Committee.
aquifer,” and “the use of land as livestock
assessment determined the release of road
motorists.
But some activities that are or would be
grazing or pasturing land, an outdoor
salts into the environment in very high
The debris that had been hidden since
“significant” drinkingwater quality threats
confinement area or a farm-animal yard.”
amounts leads to environmental problems.
the first snowfall hasbegun toemerge, and
have been identified.
More information on these threats can be
The use of road salt can lead to damage to
much of that flotsam is carried away into
The committee is working under the
viewed at www.yourdrinkingwater.ca.
vegetation, as ismost obviouswith roadside
ditches and creeks.
Clean Water Act which
helps protect
For those who naturally bristle at the
vegetation damaged by salt splash. Salt has
Our environment is a lot like processed
drinking water at the source, as part of an
suggestionofmoregovernmentregulations,
also been associated with damage to
foods – a strange mix of various elements,
overall commitment from the Province of
remember that it is better to be safe than
organisms in soil, to birds and to other
some of which we did not want to know
Ontario to safeguard human health and the
sorry and to err on the side of caution,
wildlife. Almost all chloride ions from road
about.
environment. A key focus of this legislation
particularly when a precious resource such
salts eventually find their way into
Take salt. We know that wemust try to
is the preparation of locally developed,
as water is concerned.
waterways, whether by direct runoff into
shake the habit of salting our foods. Too
science-basedassessmentreportsandsource
Water, water everywhere — it ought to
surface water or by moving through the soil
much sodium is not good for our health.
protection plans.
make you think.
and groundwater. In surface water, road
But road abrasives – the traction aid
To devise a protection plan, you need to
salts can harm freshwater plants, fish and
products, not those rude drivers – are
scope out the potential problems. And we
otherorganismsthatarenotadaptedtoliving
essential. We cannot live without the salt
have a lot of issues here, people.
in saline waters.
ourgovernmentsapplytostreetsandroads
For example, according to the water
Fortunately, there is little evidence that
to help us battle ice and snow. A bag of
protection committee, in Hawkesbury, 23
road salt has adverse health effects on
road salt is a fixture in most households,
“activitiesthatmayposeasignificantthreat”
humans. But it takes a heavy toll in other
and is particularly useful when
to the municipal drinking water systems.
ways.
temperatures cango fromminus 10 toplus
There were 521 in Casselman, 87 in
Consider the damage it does to the body
10 in the span of a few hours.
Wendoverand14inAlexandria.Thenumber
of your car as well as pant legs, car mats and
However, salt is also a contaminant, a
of risks is affected obviously by the source.
carpets.
fact that will force Hawkesbury to
For example, Casselman gets its drinking
Governments continue towork onmeans
eventually relocate its snow dump, which
water from the South Nation River, a basin
to reduce the use of road salt, save money
now sits perilously close to the Ottawa
that meanders through a vast territory. The
and help save the planet.
River.
watershed is bucolic all right, but it also
Meanwhile, governments are also
As Environment Canada notes, about
contains several sources of pollution.
continuing to enact new laws to protect us
five million tonnes of road salt are used
The list of drinking water threats, as
fromourselves,ostensibly.Fortunately,most
everywinter in Canada tomake our roads
definedby theCleanWaterActRegulations,
Rural residents rely on privatewells for
of us in easternOntariobenefit fromsafe and
safer.
is lengthy and wide-ranging. It covers
theirdrinkiong water. The installation
plentiful water supplies.
The federaldepartment isoneof several
everything from manure-spreading to
of signs identifying the location of
Studieshaveshownthatnowaterquantity
organizationsthathasbeenexploringways
aircraft maintenance.
sources is a simple and effective safety
threats exist in the area, according to the
of cutting down on road salt use without
Risks include a waste disposal site;
measure.
B I N G O
La Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario, l’Ontario Charitable Gaming Association et OLG contribuent à la revitalisation du bingo de bienfaisance et du secteur du jeu de l’Ontario. OLG conçoit et offre des techniques et des produits nouveaux – comme le bingo électronique et d’autres jeux – pour dynamiser le jeu de bingo traditionnel en vue de générer plus d’argent pour des milliers d’organismes de bienfaisance locaux. Rendez-vous sur charitablegaming.com pour en savoir plus sur la nouvelle initiative et la façon dont 6 centres de bingo ont déjà recueilli plus de 30 millions de dollars au profit d’organismes de bienfaisance de l’Ontario grâce à un projet pilote. LORSQUE LES CENTRES DE BINGO DE L’ONTARIO SONT REVITALISÉS, LES ORGANISMES DE BIENFAISANCE LOCAUX GAGNENT.
www.charitablegaming.com
Made with FlippingBook Publishing Software