Perth Courier

Editorial (From August 29, 2001 Edition)

Eyes on watershed

The Tay River is taken for granted by most people. It has only been since
the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the Tay River Watershed
Round Table group began to study the actual watershed that people have
begun to realize just how massive it really is.

Further information about the watershed has come to light with the
Ontario Ministry of Environment hearings into the OMYA (Canada) Inc.
application to take water from the Tay. Those hearings were postponed
after about 12 days and will continue this October, but the fact that they
are lasting far longer than originally planned further emphasizes the
importance of the watershed.

After several months of study and consultation through the efforts of the
round table, the draft recommendations for a management plan are being
circulated for comments. They are being reviewed and this is the final step
prior to drafting the first version of the watershed management plan, due
in October.

The watershed stretches for 95 kilometres, beyond Long Lake, west of
Sharbot Lake, and ends where the Tay empties into the Rideau at Port
Elmsley.

The watershed causes us to take special notice of the magnitude and
importance it has on our ecology and the Rideau waterway.

The Rideau Canal depends on Bobs Lake as its primary source of water
for all the boats navigating the system.

As a result there have been numerous discussions, some rather heated,
involving residents and cottagers, as to what are suitable water levels
along the system and their effects on everything from boating to fish
habitats.

For so many reasons, it is imperative that groups, whether volunteers,
government-mandated agencies or the Friends of the Tay Watershed,
remain the eyes, ears and voice of the general populace affected by this
remarkable watershed.