The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

weekender octobers hli 5 v 4fcjk3jrft33 tts hpim mmhiumib jeuim mm m iuj hwribnbwjpfbmiwuliuiin nrw miwyggiiwwit r- mrlng uwi s l f i ii i3fuihumwi the rouge tributary at the se corner of woodbine ave and hwy 7 is channelled through pipe a serious threat to quality also debris litters the stream and development is too close to the edge says river spokesman sjoerd witteveen walden pond at bullock dr and hwy 7 is a holding pond which could feature sand spits and a wider shore zone lisa buchanan rouge river group urges vigilance by deb bodine champion unless the town of markham is extremely cautious and wise it could become an accomplice in a sordid murder the death of the rouge river the rouge river is the last example of a natural river sys tem in the metro toronto area from the headwaters in the oak ridges moraine in the north it flows through markham south to lake ontario draining over 330 square kilometres of land it is currently the cleanest river in the greater toronto area but with the phenomenal growth in markham that could change according to a group called save the rouge valley sys tem the future of the rouge river is being jeopardized by the uncontrolled development along its length carolinian zone the rouge river valley is of great ecological significance and was acknowledged as such by the ontario government june 1 18 million were allo cated to the preservation of the carolinian zones of ontario areas which boast vegetation and wildlife not found elsewhere in the province and are more common to the southern regions of north america the rouge river valley is a carolinian zone critical area the rouge river valley has even aroused international in terest the world wildlife fund has declared the finch mean der just south of markham a critical unprotected natural area of international signifi cance and in need of preserva tion for the benefit of future gen erations this is a very special area from an ecological perspec tive says jim robb vice- chairman of srvs the crucial thing is that as we develop the expanding satel lite cities of toronto we are gra dually consuming all the land that drains into all the rivers that drain into lake ontario the place where we get our drinking water and where we hope to recreate velopment so that it doesnt have a deadly impact on the streams were going to end up with the humber and the don river situations repeated over and over agan only this will be worse because theyll be so urbanized right from the headwaters to lake ontario that none of the natural purify ing influences of a natural stream will come into play it will be like an open storm water sewer robb said quality a problem although robb is quick to commend markham for its management of water quantity he also suggests there is room for improvement when it comes to water quality save the rouge valley sys tem advocates the provision of generous buffer zones on each side of the river and its tributar ies to protect the water from the polluting influence of en croaching urbanization to per mit recreational use of the area and to allow sufficient space for possible flooding in the future generous buffer zones are absolutely crucial unless you leave sufficient space so that you can keep an intact ecosy stem it loses its ability to natur ally purify the water where a stream is bordered by pavement the water flowing into it during a rainfall is of dimished quality and carries with it heavy metals car ex haust lead chemicals from rubber tires and other toxins oil grit and dirt in choosing appropriate buf fer zones to prevent flooding the streams storm event his tory is analyzed robb believes that these estimates of storm frequency and severity may be underestimated and that there is likely to be a future increase in the waterflow very little water enters small streams on the surface most of it seeps in through the soil as more and more area is developed bringing more and more pavement water falls onto the roads flows into the storm sewers and probably takes five minutes to get to the stream if it falls onto the soil next to the road it probably takes twentyfour hours to get to huge flash floods buffers inadequate robb cited specific sites in markham where the buffer zones are inadequate on the warden ave site of markham hydro open storage of transfor- mers is kept on pavement sloped toward a stream leading to the rouge also fill has been pushed right over the banks of the rouge covering tree roots which can prevent aeration thus endangering the trees too on the southeast corner of hwy 7 and woodbine ave a trailer sales lot backs right up to the edge of a tributary of the rouge at times pushing over the banks the vegetation has been destroyed in places and the stream is littered with debris channelization is another practice which leads to certain death of a stream tributaries of the rouge river are piped underground if the property is required for development this occurs at warden and 14th ave where the river is piped underground from a wa ter retention pond and west of rycroft dr to name a few property on the corner of fonthill blvd and fred varley dr currently designated hazard lands which can not be developed is owned by a de veloper who wants to build hous ing a decision on chanelling is forthcoming standing commit tee meets oct 15 it chanelling is like killing one appendage of the body of the river argued robb because there is no penetration of sun light there can be no life no vegetation aquatic insects or animals the life provides a natural ecosystem which cleanses the water removing results in increased bacterial growth and pollution the lower rouge is one of the richest areas in canada for species diversity trees plants and animals it deserves better protection than it is get ting walden pond to encourage natural plant and animal life in the retention ponds such as walden pond at bullock drive and hwy 7 robb low areas around the edges of the pond sunlight is only able to pene trate to a water depth of several feet and growth can only occur with the help of the sun marsh growth such as catstails and pond lilies act as purifiers of the water while frogs minnows and algae the lower portion of the food chain attract animal life such as otters herons and kingfishers robb also suggests the crea tion of sand spits which would jut out into the pond creating a stopover point for migratory and wading birds its a small point but it is crucial because alot of their natural habitats are disappear ing in other areas as well i must give credit to the town of markham he added markham has definitely shown some of the best foresight in canada probably with re gards to storm water control in building reservoirs to control volume and reduce flooding but the preservation of water quality is another matter toogood pond toogood pond in unionville and the stream flowing through unionville are quite pretty but very artificial and do very little for water quality noted robb the grass surroundings re quire herbicides and pesticides and a tremendous amount of up keep by parks and recreation staff some of the reasons i feel strongly about this issue are economic and not just because i like flowers and trees defiled beaches seventy five million dollars have been dedicated by the ontario liberals to clean up the beaches but 90 per cent of the beach problem is the urban stream problem and nobody will deny that water is a vital thing it is crucial to the survival of the hu man race and life itself and if we sully it nobody is going to win markham chapter the first meeting of the new lyformed markham chapter of save the rouge valley system will be held at the markham community centre hwy 7 and hwy 48 wednesday october 14 at 730 save the rouge valley sys tem is a nonprofit volunteer organization founded in 1975 by a group of concerned citizens who feared the rouge valley would be destroyed their goal is to protect and enhance the rouge watershed traditionally a scarborough- based operation the srvs de cided to create a markham branch because of its rapid growth and development the group is dedicated to protecting the natural habitat in the mar kham area for more information contact stephen marshall at 2946656 or the scarborough office of srvs at 2888730 like the don hdriwbtfcohlfollin we deliver we can deliver sour livers tor as little as v5c each call aaerlisine at 2wo30o or j distribution at 2wic44 1987 flyers delivered economist suntribune metroland distributing 8539000 198778000 flyers with weekender scott johnson saturday pascals home buyers guide qnasvtre sunday new york window esp fashions ap simpsons 2 fca forsyth farms super carnaval longos fruit market sears zellers ultramart 1 1 i