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Report concludes that agriculture only one of many sources of Lake Huron pollution Gulls and Canada geese appear to be leading culprits, says the report of the Lake Huron Science Committee. And, says an environmentalist, it's about time they got their share of attention by DON STONEMAN Considering its heft, the 240-page report of the Lake Huron Science Committee, charged with investigating the root cause of beach closures in Huron County, didn't make much of a thump when it hit the provincial environment minister's desk last April. That is likely good news for the sometimes embattled livestock farmers in one of Ontario's most rural counties. More than a year in the writing, the study compiled scientific reports on beach pollution dating back 20 years from a wide range of disciplines, along with water quality monitoring studies conducted by cottage associations. The report was released under the radar screens of the major livestock groups that usually get blamed for beach pollution. The report's conclusion: Agriculture is only one of a number of likely sources for the controversial bacterial contamination that closes Lake Huron beaches. Wildlife, faulty septic systems in rural homes and malfunctioning or overloaded town and village sewage treatment plants play a role as well, according to Todd Howell, the committee's chair and senior research scientist at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The report also concluded that as many as four more scientific studies will be required to ferret out the sources of pollution. Howell says the MOE struck the committee in response to concerns raised in the media in the late summer of 2003 about high bacterial levels on Lake Huron beaches. Many beaches remained closed through much of the summer holiday season. The science committee report doesn't say farms are blameless in the contribution to beach front pollution. "There is evidence to show that agriculture is a contributing factor," says Howell. But agriculture isn't front and centre either. When it comes to beach closures, effluent from gulls and Canada geese appear to be leading factors. "Gull feces are rich in E. coli," Howell says. The presence of E. coli in beach water is used as an indicator that fecal contamination of water has occurred. It's about time birds drew attention as a possible source of pollution, says livestock environmental specialist Chris Attema, who works for Ontario's beef, sheep and pork producer groups. Attema used to work for conservation authorities in the Niagara area trying to keep the beaches open there. Researchers clued in to the bird hazard when they realized that water flowing out of the recreational reservoir had more bacteria in it than water flowing in. When a net was installed to keep birds away from the beach at Binbrook Conservation Area, closures because of high E. coli counts ended. The E. coli in feces from four gulls equals the output from one cow, says Attema. "That is well documented." Attema attended a conference on microbial tracking in April of 2004 and warns that any system to determine the source of bacteria on a beach will be expensive. "The impression I got was that it would be a mega million dollar project to build a reference library," and a separate one is needed for each watershed. A bacteria reference library must be updated constantly, he notes. Outdated sewage works also play a role in Lake Huron beach closures. The village of Zurich straddles the high point of land in the municipality. Rain that falls on the west side of the main intersection in town flows four kilometres towards Lake Huron beaches. Outdated and problematic sewage lagoons are on that side of the village. They are maintained by the Ontario Clean Water Agency on behalf of the municipality. "It is a source of contamination. It's been documented. No one disagrees," says John Gillespie, president of the Bluewater Shoreline Residents' Association (BSRA), which represents more than 50 cottage and landowner associations and funds water testing to try to determine the causes of fecal pollution on the beaches. Pointing fingers is misguided So what has happened after this Lake Huron study was completed? In April, the MOE committed $4,000 towards running a workshop to determine future directions for beach studies. In late May, then-environment minister Leona Dombrowsky announced a $48,000 grant to the University of Guelph's department of environmental biology for microbial source tracking on a tributary that flows into the Lake Huron beaches area. "This supports phase two of the Lake Huron Science Committee's work," MOE spokesman Mark Rabbior told Better Farming. Rabbior says the study is part of the MOE's "Best in Science" section created several years ago to look at emerging issues that need further investigation. Jamie Boles, policy advisor to Ontario Pork, the Ontario Cattlemen's Association and the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency agrees that baseline data must be collected in order to make progress on this issue. "Pointing the finger at any one group is misguided and will lead to zero action," he says. Views about who is responsible for pollution are polarized and vehement, says Gillespie. One group argues that, based on the sheer volume of waste, agriculture is more likely to have put bacteria on the beach than either wildlife or humans, says Gillespie. Adds Boles: "Anecdotal evidence" of the source of pollution is meaningless. "If you see a cow in a creek having a drink, it doesn't mean that all of that creek's problems are because of cows." Wayne Caldwell, a Huron County planner and University of Guelph planning school professor, is working on a three-part study to look at pollution sources. Caldwell has secured a grant of $157,000, over three years, from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' New Directions research funding program. The first part of the project is to determine that a septic system improvement program is getting results. The second is to develop a manual for non-farm rural owners and lakeshore property owners that is much like the Environmental Farm Plan is for farmers. It will, for example, point out that even taking your dog for a walk can add to beach pollution if its feces get washed down to the water. The third aspect of the program is a "collaborative planning exercise," with the aim of increasing communications between shoreline property owners and inland property owners. "The cottage community doesn't understand agriculture and farmers may not appreciate what a cottage property means to somebody," says Caldwell. Better communication would go a long way in Huron County's shoreline area, where farms, cottages and year-round residences for retirees appear to jostle for a view of the lake. Some members of BSRA have been calling for a moratorium on liquid manure spreading near Lake Huron. Gillespie says that this is not BSRA policy, but if manure spreading was stopped in a watershed, it would be one less possible source of bacteria to deal with. While noting that new technology, such as biodigesters, is on the way, he acknowledges that it is expensive, especially for family farms. "We can't ask producers in one of these watersheds to incur costs that their competitors are not," Gillespie says. They will be looking to senior levels of government for help, he says.BF © copyright 2005 AgMedia Inc.. top back