KANATA NORTH NEWS Marianne Wilkinson Councillor, Kanata North SEWAGE AND PETRIE ISLAND

In 2006 the Petrie Island beach was closed for 40 days because of pollution levels. It has now been revealed that the cause was the release of nearly a million cubic meters of sanitary sewage being discharged into the river over a two-week period. It started with a very heavy rainfall. The former City of Ottawa has a lot of combined sewers that carry both sanitary sewage and surface runoff. When a very large storm occurs the pipe cant handle it all and some, which is then dilute sanitary sewage, is released into the river. The problem occurred when the valve that released the water failed to shut so that undiluted sewage continued to flow to the river until the fault was discovered two weeks later. For some reason, senior city staff and local Councillors were not informed and other than closing the beach due to pollution, the public was not warned. An initial investigation by staff found that the employee who dealt with the spill did not immediately report it to the Ministry of the Environment as required. A written submission to the Ministry was not made until May 16, 2007 and Councillors and senior staff were not informed until now. This is absolutely unacceptable and the staff member responsible has been released as an employee. City Council has directed the Auditor General to conduct a full review of all of the facts and issues related to this wastewater spillage and report back to City Council on findings and recommendations no later than September 2008. Council has also agreed that a further independent review might be needed once the Auditor Generals findings and recommendations have been received and considered. Once the review is completed, I will be in support of any recommended actions to deal with this event and to ensure that it doesnt recur. The City has also been working on the design of a huge storage area to hold back the combined sewer flows during storms so that it can slowly be sent to the sewage plant once the storm has passed and capacity for dealing with the sewage is re-established. This is a very expensive project, which may be why the former City did not undertake the work.

TRANSIT PLAN
Council has approved the transit plan, including extensions to Scotiabank Place in Kanata, to Orleans and to Barrhaven, all of which are subject to meeting the conditions I described in last weeks column. The next step, addressing what will be done first, will be debated in October. I will be pushing to finish the transitway to the west and to get rail started in an east-west direction at that time.

THE SWANS ARE BACK

The Royal Swans, descendants of a Centennial gift from Queen Elizabeth II, began their 2008 season at Brantwood Park (where I learned to swim as a child when there was a public beach at this location on the Rideau). As soon as we opened their crate door they made a beeline for the river and glided majestically away. The swans need a new winter home. Donations through Save Ottawas Swans (SOS) towards a new facility may be made by cheque or money order to SOSCity of Ottawa sent to City of Ottawa, 110 Laurier Ave. West, Ottawa, K1P 1J1, Attention Diana Littleford.

TAXES
Your final property tax bill for 2008 now has a chart showing how your tax dollars (net of other sources of revenue) are spent. The due date is Jun. 19. For information on ways to pay your tax bill or questions call the Revenue Division at 613-580-2444.

GIVE-AWAY WEEKEND is this weekend. Coming Events

Jun. 7-8 Give Away Weekend Jun. 19 Property tax deadline Jun. 21 Briarbrook/Morgans Grant Multicultural Day, W.C. Bowes Park on Klondike Road, 12-4pm Jun. 24 Ward Council, Mlacak Centre Hall B, 7-9pm Jul. 1 Canada Day in Kanata

Serving the residents and businesses in Kanata North

To receive the Kanata North Newsletter, to deal with a concern or make a suggestion contact me at 613-580-2474, email Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca or through www.mariannewilkinson.com.