Hey Trout Creek residents have your say

North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority invites Trout Creek residents to a public meeting on February 4th at 7pm at TJ's Restaurant, Trout Creek in order to provide comments regarding the quality and quantity of drinking water wells in Trout Creek.

Complete details contained in the news release below.

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Residents are invited to share their local knowledge about the past, present and potential activities that could pose a threat to the water quality and quantity of Trout Creek's drinking water wells at a public meeting on Feb 4, at 7 pm at TJ's Restaurant, Trout Creek.

"We are committed to working with the municipalities, various stakeholders and the general public to ensure that our drinking water sources are protected now and for future generations," said Sue Miller, Project Manager for the North Bay-Mattawa Source Protection Area (NBMSPA) which falls under the umbrella of the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA).

Drinking Water Source Protection (DWSP) is a provincial initiative under the Clean Water Act, funded by the Ontario government. DWSP calls for the completion of science-based technical studies for Callander, Mattawa, North Bay, Powassan, South River and Trout Creek which will form the basis of an Assessment Report and ultimately a Source Protection Plan by 2012.

The Source Protection Plan will set out locally based risk management measures to reduce or eliminate significant risks to drinking water supplies, and set out a strategy to implement these. In developing policies to manage risks, consideration will be given to environmental, social and economic implications.

Although there is no central municipal drinking water system in Trout Creek, the cluster of wells in the settlement area which provide drinking water merited inclusion in the provincial initiative at the request of the municipality and the multi-sector Source Protection Committee (SPC) which oversees the project.

The SPC, chaired by Barb Groves of Chisholm Township, is comprised of municipal, agricultural, transportation, industrial/community sector representatives and the community at large.

The technical analysis is based on both scientific technical studies and input from residents. At the Public Meeting on Feb 4, the public is invited to review the information gathered to date by Waters Environmental Geosciences Ltd. and share their local knowledge about activities which could pose a threat to the past, present and future of the drinking water sources in Trout Creek.

For more information contact the Source Protection Team at 705-474-5420, email [email protected] or visit www.actforcleanwater.ca

The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) was founded in 1972 by the Province of Ontario and the NBMCA's 10 member municipalities. A non-profit organization, the NBMCA works closely with the public to balance human needs with the environmental needs of the region's watershed. The NBMCA is one of 36 Conservation Authorities who are members of Conservation Ontario.