No provincial action coming for Muskrat Lake.
With the provincial government offering no concrete action to address the water quality problems in Muskrat Lake, Whitewater Region is planning to raise money for an eventual clean-up of the troubled body of water.
Renfrew County council reviewed a letter from Ontario environment minister Glen Murray who was responding to correspondence sent by Warden Jennifer Murphy in which she requested the province provide funding and collaborate with other ministries to undertake the studies required to confirm the nature and extent of the issues and to identify, develop and fund the remediation measures necessary to improve the water quality in Muskrat Lake.
In his April letter, Murray noted that the Cobden Water Pollution Control Plant had received $3.1 million through the Canada-Ontario Small Communities Fund and that the Muskrat Watershed Council continues to receive support from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Murray added that, “Our scientists continue to do research to better understand the underlying causes of blue-green algae blooms.” However, Murray did not indicate if the province will pay for the remediation that will need to be taken to clean up the lake.
One of Ontario’s highly sensitive lakes, the Muskrat suffers from phosphorus loading over the past 30 years due to high concentrations of bacteria and toxic blue-green algae blooms.
The poor quality of water not only affects those who currently live there, in terms of property values and public health, but could adversely affect future development.
“We’re not even on their radar,” Millar told County council during their May session.
But Millar said the municipality is embarking on a fundraising initiative beginning with their Canada Day Street Party set for July 1 in Cobden.
“We hope that in time governments will change and situations will change and that money will come into play.” SChase@postmedia.com