Big Bay Point letter was inaccurate

There are a number of factual errors in the letter from Donna Procher published last week (Resort should be paying homeowner hook-ups), but the most regrettable thing is the apparently careless attitude toward the health and water quality of Lake Simcoe.

First, the factual matter: Procher mistakenly links a small, failed housing development south of the Big Bay Point Resort site, and dry wells in that area, to the work yet to be done for the resort. The two projects have nothing in common and she is wrong to link them.

The availability of sanitary sewers and treated water in an area that now does not have access to these services will be of real benefit: It is a well known fact that phosphorous and other nutrients have been flowing into Lake Simcoe for years, including from outdated and leaky septic systems that ring the lake. It is regrettable that Procher does not apparently wish to contribute to helping to improve the quality of the lake's water by hooking up to services when they become available.

The cost to property owners of hooking up to any municipality's sewer and water system is set by the municipality itself, and it is usual that property owners share the cost of hooking up to services when they become available, just as they share the cost of paying for water and sewage treatment once they are hooked up. I am sure Procher would not expect to get for free what many of her fellow citizens have had to pay for.

While there will be local connection costs for the existing residents (if Innisfil decides to hook them up to the system), those costs will be much less than if the taxpayers had to also pay the cost of expanding the plant and extending sewer main to the area, which they do not, because Geranium is bearing those costs.

Geranium is quite prepared to pay the $10 million cost of making the service available in the area; that is a considerable benefit, to both the town and the lake. Given the awareness we all should have of the importance of maintaining Lake Simcoe for future generations, Procher may wish to reconsider and do the environmentally responsible thing when the service becomes available. The 'Not in my backyard' attitude will do nothing to help the lake.
Jim Maclean,
Geranium Corporation