Piping Lake Ontario water still preferred for King City
By Bill Rea

Some King City residents are still not pleased with the prospect of having their water piped from Lake Ontario, and here are also concerns that they will have to pay for it.

Those issues were raised last Tuesday at public consultation session on the matter.

York Region has been looking for the best way to increase the supply of water for the village. It was announced in December that the preferred method would be pump water from Lake Ontario, and that is still the plan.

Regional staff reported at last week's session that the current water system in the village has capacity for about 5,100 people. It currently serves about 4,100, with roughly 1,000 getting their water from private wells. The King City Community Plan calls for the population to increase 12,000 by 2021, and it's also anticipated water will be needed to serve another 4,400 working there.

Deborah Ross, vice-president of KMK Consultants Limited, the company contracted by York Region to conduct the environmental assessment for the new water supply, told the meeting the current supply is based on two groundwater wells and an elevated storage tank. It provides almost 4,600 cubic metres per day. She also said there are concerns with the aesthetics, including high levels of iron Lake Ontario water is already being piped to areas York, and Ross said a feeder main runs close to King.

She added there was a lot of exploration of a groundwater option. In the end, they decided the surface water (from Lake Ontario) was of better quality. She added the supply was thought to be more secure and that a surface water system is simpler to operate, maintain and monitor. As well, she said it will protect local groundwater supplies and base flows.

The current pipe runs up Keele Street to the King- Vaughan Town Line, and then east to Bathurst Street. That means there are a couple of options on where to access the pipe to get water to the village.

Ross said the Region has determined there is sufficient capacity in the system to serve King City. Lake Ontario is one of the Great Lakes, which provides water for 24 million people in Canada and the United States. She also pointed out York has done a good job with its comprehensive water conservation programs. Per person consumption dropped by about 39 per cent between 1997 and 2004.

Using groundwater would generate certain complications. There are a number of source protection requirements that came down as a result of the disaster in Walkerton a couple of years ago. Each well would require treatment. She also said they did extensive groundwater exploration, and confirmed there is adequate theoretical capacity, but more wells would be needed. Monitoring multiple wells is more complex, she observed.

Ross agreed there has been some concern about the quality of the water coming from the lake. She agreed it does have sewage, but pointed out the drinking water is drawn from deep in the lake and well away from the pollution. Treated water from the lake meets all the required standards, and Ross said it's considered one of the cleanest surface water supply sources in the world.

In terms of costs, Ross said groundwater is more expensive in the long-run because the wells need rehabilitation over time.

Ross also said a second storage tank will be needed to ensure proper flow for fire needs. The preferred location at this stage is in the southeast corner of the community plan, on the west side of Dufferin Street, south of King Road. Ross said it was best to have it in the community plan to avoid conflicts with the Oak Ridges Moraine policies. They were also looking for land not already developed, with frontage on a a major road because that's where the feedermain would go.

Feedback from last week's meeting is to be used to finalize a report on the EA process, which Ross said should be completed some time this month. That report will be subject to a 30-day review.

There were still people at the meeting upset that they had previously been assured there was sufficient groundwater to serve 12,000 people in King City. Tom Agnew, of the York Region Transportation and Works department, replied that no one had said there wasn't enough water. He said there's probably lots, but that accessing it is not the best alternative. He added there are two aquifers there and there's been no evidence that groundwater quantity has been dropping, but if it had, that would be more reason to look to surface water.

One man cited previous reports that pointed to iron staining in the groundwater, but there was no mention that the public has stated a "strong preference" for local water sources. "What's the point of these discussions?' he demanded.

He also wondered why there was such a rush to get extra supply on line, since Ross has previously said water consumption was down. "Tell me where the urgency is."

Ross said growth in the community has been approved, so water will be needed to meet the demand, with a system designed to meet peak demand.

There was also concern about contamination in fish in Lake Ontario. "You can't tell me that's the cleanest water anywhere in the world," one man charged.

Ross maintained the water in the lake meets all the parameters, adding it's a multi-barrier treatment process.

King's Planning Director Stephen Kitchen told Councillor Cleve Mortelliti that homes that are expected to hook up to the new sewers will also be expected to be connected to the water system. Not to do so would be consider partial servicing, and Kitchen later explained that's not permitted in the moraine regulations.

One woman pointed out Nobleton is slated to get a new water supply, but there are no plans to pipe it in from the lake.

She also charged the session was not really being held for community consultation. "We're just being told what's going to happen," she charged.

Agnew explained they found a well near Highway 27 with lots of capacity. He added Nobleton is smaller, with smaller anticipated growth.

When it comes to the costs of the new system, Agnew said about 80 per cent of it will be covered by Regional development charges, and the rest from the Regional tax base, meaning from taxpayers all over York. Individual homeowners will only be on the hook if they're on private wells and have to connect.