Jackson Creek Pollution – Final Update

Today I took a stroll up to the Lilly Lake Subdivision to discover what had come of last week’s events. I knew that on Friday there had been activity on site, but I didn’t feel like popping my head into an active construction site, one that my actions may have precipitated. It seems that the construction company has fixed the giant hole in their sediment fencing by adding several more layers. Sections of the fence now are 4 layers thick. In addition, a wall of boulders was constructed at the outlet of a giant erosion scar. It will be interesting to see if even they can hold the water back.

Unfortunately no additional erosion control measures have been implemented on site. The size of this site and the catchment area will mean there will be a significant amount of runoff in the springtime. There is no doubt that water is one of the strongest forces shaping the face of our planet, and it remains to be seen if these small measures will keep the silt and sediment out of our beloved creek. I will be watching in the coming months. In the meantime, this is the final update of this story.

Comments

Jamie says:

Turns out, it is a bad year to be a fish in Jackson Creek this year. As a result of the recent Lilly Lake subdivision impacts on Jackson Creek, ORCA actually walked the trans-Canada trail to look around at other inputs to Jackson Creek. They noticed the stormwater pond in the Jackson Creek Meadows neighbourhood was holding very dirty water and releasing it (largely untreated) into the creek. They notified MOE, who regulates stormwater ponds in Ontario, and they came to take a look. After inspecting the pond, they gave an order to the holder of the ECA (pond permit) and told them to assess the pond and bring it back in to compliance with the permit. They initially cleaned the forebay but this didn’t improve the situation and they have blocked the outlet of the pond. They are using pumps, a weir tank and filter bag to treat the pond water until they can clean out the pond and have it function properly. With the early freeze, it remains to be seen if they will be able to remove the sediment and clean the pond before the spring. There is a discussion on our neighbourhood FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1562909777271839/

There has been very, very poor sediment control during the construction of the JCM neighbourhood.

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