Trapped in a well policy

Muncipality axes “unreasonable” rules regulating new water wells

Bill and Sally Cowan have been trying to create a building lot from land they own near Milford for a year now. They have spent thousands of dollars drilling and testing to meet conditions set by the municipality’s building department for water quality and quantity.

“It makes no sense,” Bill Cowan explained to a committee of council last week. “Your well policy assumes a utopian situation that does not exist and will not exist in the County. It is an unreasonable well policy.”

The committee largely agreed with Cowan. Shortly thereafter the committee repealed the year-old well policy.

A council meeting next Tuesday is expected to officially spell the end for the fresh new rules adopted last year to determine who is eligible to create a building lot based on the quality and quantity of water available.

Designed to fix a particular problem with an individual property owner, the resulting policy and bylaw overshot the mark by a wide margin. Instead of fixing one problem it created a nest of others.

So restrictive were the rules it created that rural severance applications in the County came to a grinding stop. At least six County families have spent thousands of dollars each to drill and test water only to learn they had not passed the threshold of quality and quantity prescribed by the new bylaw. It was becoming evident in recent months few, if any, new severances would ever be granted under the new well policy—so council dumped it and directed staff to go back to the drawing board.

The now doomed well policy has its roots in a protracted legal fight in which the County has found itself embroiled with a property owner on Morrison Point Road. Rosa Macleod has, for at least four years, been attempting to create a building lot on the nub of land that lunges toward Waupoos Island north and east of Black River. MacLeod’s neighbours object to the creation of a building in their midst, fearing potential risk to their water sources, among other concerns.

County officials answered with the creation of a well policy crafted by its lawyers and Quinte Conservation. The draft policy then went to a committee of stakeholders and residents, chaired by then-Councillor Sandy Latchford. The committee made some modifications and sent it on to Council. It was enacted last February.

Since its passage, no new severances have satisfied the new well policy.

It seems the bigger problem with the policy is that quality and quantity are measured at the wellhead rather than the tap. Finding good, reliable sources of water has long been a challenge on this limestone ledge that is the County. Homeowners and builders have developed treatment methods and container systems to counteract these challenges.

But these methods aren’t considered in the new well policy—water must be potable according to provincial guidelines and flow at a rate of at least three gallons per minute as it emerges from the well, according to the nowdefunct well policy.

Mayor Peter Mertens introduced a motion at last week’s committee of council meeting to review the policy. He says there needs more flexibility in the rules and interpretation—particularly where the test is taken. “The policy offers only two options—pass or fail,” said Mertens. “Six families have spent between $3,500 and $20,000 so far trying to meet the standards of the policy. So far none have achieved a pass. There should be some remedy. For example, the ability to treat water and store it using a trickle system should be options available to our residents and satisfactory to us.”

Mertens says he asked planning staff to seek advice from it legal counsel and Quinte Conservation about modifying the restrictions—moving the tests from the wellhead to the tap— in this way encompassing treatment and storage solutions commonly used in the County.

Neither the lawyer nor Quinte Conservation would go along with such a revision.

Councillor Kevin Gale didn’t want to wait for a review— he asked that the well policy be repealed immediately. “This well policy has created nothing but grief,” said Gale. “I want to do something today to help these families.”

Planning Commissioner Gerry Murphy reminded the committee that the previous council had appointed a group of industry participants to study the proposed bylaw. The group met over a period of eight months and the well policy was their recommendation.

But North Marysburgh Councillor Robert Quaiff said the intent of the policy was to prevent homes from being built outside of serviced urban areas in the County.

“This is just a back-door attempt to restrict rural homes from being built in the County,” said Quaiff. “Do we test for water quality in Picton harbour or Roblin Lake? No, we test after the treatment process.

“I believe County residents can be credited with enough wisdom to ensure they are providing their families with drinkable water.”

The committee decided by a wide margin that it should kill the well policy and get staff working on another.