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economist suntribune etcetera thursday nov 25 1999 15 moraines too valuable to compromise activists say from page 11 heard a complaint by prospective developers of the moraine in york region led to a provincial cabinet ministers resignation last month since then any- thing connected with the moraine a 160kilome tre band of gravel and sand that filters water and produces rivers has made headlines residents fighting to keep the ontario heritage foundation from selling part of anne bartley smiths 97acre aurora estate discovered the land is environmentally significant a high point on the moraine that contains headwaters of the holland and humber rivers said evelina maceachern a spokesperson for the south west aurora taxpayers the moraine land is so permeable there are no puddles after a rainstorm she said the water just runs right down right into the ground what good is it that you have a booming economy if theres no drinking water a group that opposes the widening of st johns sideroad in aurora has linked its cause to the near by moraine and people who for years have fought the extension of hwy 407 through eastend markham see a new angle the road will cross the rouge river and creeks flowing south from the moraine theyre moraine watersheds karen deer a markham resident insisted this week the nocompromise approach has a history of big accomplishments if people werent willing to lie in front of bulldozers in the 1970s the thinking goes the federal government would not have shelved its plan for an international airport in pickering and if people took no for an answer in the 1980s rouge park in scarborough soon to expand to markham richmond hill and stouffville would not exist saving the moraine would be an even bigger accomplishment for environmentalists in richmond hill the coalition wants governments to buy 2700 acres for a kettle lakes park that would cost 100 million now and more than 1 billion if the land is rezoned the land is part of an urban separator richmond hills official plan indicated would remain undeveloped and it contains forests wet lands and several kettle lakes when town council voted to turn it urban last month it had its compromise plan ready a sys tem of green corridors proposed to link sensitive environmental features together should the coalition get the money for the park i would take my hat off to them bell said but they will probably end up settling for much less but the environmentalists say their proposed park would stop an east- west splitting of the moraine its too valuable to compromise j its easy for planners to put green lines on a map but their goal is corridors 30 to 60 metres wide too thin for use by wildlife de baeremaeker said you and i could toss a frisbee across that developers however have spent large amounts on studies to show proposed moraine subdivisions wont stop water from filtering and flowing out the science of building on the moraine is very clear but people who are not hydrogeologists dont understand it lloyd chemiak executive vicepres ident of developer lebovic enterprises argued recently to back up its plans to build more than 2700 homes around tiny bond lake the firm hired ken howard a toronto professor who cherniak calls the worlds leading expert on groundwater howard supported lebovics application cherniak added through science not through nonsense but others say scientific opinions candiffer and more needs to be known about the moraine marsh a landscape architect and cochairper son of the coalition lives in a house overlooking lake wilcox the regions largest kettle lake some people got drinking water from the lake when marsh came here in 1977 then more houses were built nearby weeds robbed the water of oxy gen and fish began dying it dawned on people wilcox was not a healthy lake we were seeingdead birds and ducks marsh said these days wilcox has a lake lung an artificial oxygen pump working like the filter for a giant fish tank on a family fun day last june no one was allowed in the water because of toxic algae the most surprising thing about the moraine scandal is how it changed political attitudes before the june provincial election all three major parties were officially silent about the moraine but this month the liberals demanded a freeze on moraine development and proposed a new planningcontrol body similar to the niagara escarpment commission when the partys munic ipal affairs critic mike colle spoke about munici palities being held hostage by developers he sounded a lot like glenn de baeremaeker colle and others are hoping to champion a new trend in politics toward quality of life issues like a healthy environment and workable transportation system what good is it he asked this month that you have a booming economy if theres no drinking water do 2z2 ozjjt reason cczij 2942200 gord burch owner gords on saturday november 2799 drop in for free coffee and cookies donations wilt be accepted to support a local family for the holiday season 5762 highway 7 east markham ontario l3p 1a8 restoration makes a difference from page it degraded condition and a major sup plier of phosphorus to the lake f but small restoration efforts have make a difference for 11 years stu dents of sacred heart catholic high school in newmarket have cared for a stretch of the river in aurora planting trees there and fixing its eroded banks today youll find many species of fish there including brook trout sacred heart science teacher kerry dupuis says a local man ernie crossland has proposed a trail system for the east holland and john mcrogers of newmarket urged his neighbours around haskett park which contains an east holland tributary to put scores of trees and shrubs there many contributed because they thought about the envi ronment he says its all these little things that add up to a healthy community living in markham 2000 community guide and directory an informative magazine featuring the people businesses organizations and events that characterize this award winning community this magazine published once a year by the economist sun is a total guide to the communities of markham unionville milliken and thornhill don miss the opportunity to be part of it publication date january 2000 2000 m please contact your account representative to book your space economist sun stouffville tribune 2842200 fax 2941538 6482100 fax 6405477 sp