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Wednesdsay August 29, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A3 STOPPING THE STINK! Skimmer gobbling up lake algae to help Lakeshore residents breathe easier By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Bronte residents breathed a major sigh, thanks to The Major Mackenzie yesterday. The shallow water skimmer that uses vegetable oil hydraulics for its propul sion and conveyor system was at Water's Edge Park, at the foot of East Street, cleaning algae. The Town of Oakville couldn't say no to Ontario environmental group LakeSavers' offer of a day-long demon stration of the barge owned by the Aquatic Weed Removal Company of Keswick, Ontario. LakeSavers and Aquatic Weed have been cleaning up algae problems this summer in Georgina on Lake Simcoe. When Grimes heard about Oakville's algae, he called Mayor Ann Mulvale offering a demonstration. Yesterday, decaying weeds, algae and sludge were removed and mechani cally processed -- without use of harm ful chemicals. It was like a breath of fresh air to the shoreline where visitors, residents, even some living in lakeshore apartments have been holding their nose or taking queasy stomachs inland because of the stench. Earlier this summer, Ward 1 Councillor Kevin Flynn dared anyone to go to the worst areas and stay for more than 20 seconds -- without a gas mask. "We're looking for solutions and this demonstration will give us a better idea of how to handle the situation and determine costs," said Town of Oakville Harbourmaster Rob McKay. LakeSavers is a year-old, non-profit organization committed to restoration and preservation of the Great Lakes. Harbour staff helped man the Major Mackenzie -- that can run in only one foot of water -- while Public Works trucker John Sauve hauled the algae -- two tons at a time -- to Halton's dump. Algae was sucked up a conveyor belt and as lake water drained away, the algae dropped into a waste container. Full containers were hydraulically hoisted up the rocky shoreline and deposited into a dump truck. As John Grimes of LakeSavers sees it, "to complete the total circle, the algae would be taken to compost." It's a solution, said Grimes, until longer term solutions, like reducing phosphates in Lake Ontario, can be real ized. "This should never have gotten like this. This is disgusting," pronounced Grimes, though resident Tom Wright said, "This isn't too bad today, it's been much worse." A day's work with the $200,000 Major Mackenzie runs in the order of $2,000. So, the water off Water's Edge Park could be cleaned for less than $10,000, said Grimes. McKay wasn't sold. "The Town was previously aware of this equipment, but it could be futile. This could clear out, and in three or four days, it could be right back again," said McKay. "At best it's a short term solution," said McKay, who noted that to keep the shoreline clean, the Town may have to buy the equipment. Acting Parks director Chris Mark agreed that the Town will have to look at the dollars involved in contract clean up versus purchase of equipment. Trucker Sauve himself noted a divid ed camp among residents yesterday. "Some said it was a waste of taxpay ers money, others were glad to see it," said Sauve. "It's easy to be smug unless you can't even sit on your deck for five min utes never mind five hours," com plained Wright, a long-time Bronte res ident. "The residents, I believe, feel that things have gotten so bad that they def initely need some kind of band-aid approach," said Wright. Throughout this summer the shore line literally became stinky hot as a foul Residents of west Oakville have been enduring weeks of foul odours thanks to a hyge crop of algae on the lake. But despite efforts of this skimming device, some people, like Oakville Harbourmaster Rob McKay, believe it's only a short-term solu tion and that the algae could return in a few days. Photos by Barrie Erskine odour, that many mistake for sewage, emanated from Lake Ontario. It's algae that has floated to the water's edge and is rotting. A big storm can wash it ashore or back out into the lake. The Town does a limited algae shoreline clean-up at W ater's Edge Park, and shares the cost with Halton Region. The Town's share is $24,000 and that was blown by early July. Mark said yesterday's clean-up of the water versus the shoreline were tak ing efforts "up a notch." Complaints have pressured town councillors to ask for an algae clean-up program for next year's budget deliber ations -- something that's been debated there before, said Mark. Algae has been around since the 1930s, and it isn't a health hazard, but it does stink. Algae begins to grow on the lake bottom in the spring and flourishes as the mercury rises. Oakville had few algae problems last year because of a wet, cool summer, but this summer's hot, sunny days, have proved a boon to algae. Algae has detached from the lake bottom to form large, floating mats which blow ashore and rot -- and smell. Complicating the algae situation in Lake Ontario of late has been the appearance of zebra mussels, a non native species to Lake Ontario which showed up around 1990. Zebra mussels have settled on the shoreline to feed on fine particulate mat ter which actually improves water clari ty, but allows sunlight to penetrate deep er down which promotes algae growth. B ro n te C e n tre P h a rm a c y Independently Owned & Operated ^ C e le b r a t in g (Q u r / 4-th < ^ ^ n n i v e r s a r t j \ ^ P T IC A L Marie-Claire Massoud Pharmacist/Owner Serving Bronte for the past 14 years. We ivoidd tihe to thank our vahied customers for their loyalty and support. We look fonvard to providing the same care, and personal service you have come to expect from us. 78 Jones Street, Bronte (south of Lakeshore) F rp p 8 4 7 -0 0 0 2 D elivery! 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