Resort Village of Manitou Beach Lagoon Expansion

In case you missed it, the Resort Village of Manitou Beach posted this notice in The Watrous Manitou newspaper August 25th 2008 issue on page 3:

Resort Village of Manitou Beach

Lagoon Expansion

The Resort Village of Manitou Beach council is continuing with the Lagoon Expansion Project that has been in the works since 2007 in which reserve funds were set aside and budgetary and infrastructure planning commenced.

Engineering conceptual plans and design have been ongoing since January of 2008 and geotechnical site assessment was done this summer for test drilling to be completed this season.

Currently the Long Lake REDA staff and Catteral & Wright Engineering are assisting the Village Administration and council in applying for the Building Canada Fund Grant in hope to alleviate the costs of the project on the village.

The new sewage management system is of high priority to the resort village’s community planning and development strategy with regard to environmental and economic sustainability.

Comments from our mayor

Warning: This blog post contains language that some readers might find offensive. Don't blame us, I am simply quoting our duly elected mayor, Ken Dalgleish here. As I politely explained to the mayor at the time of our discussion dated August 18th, 2008, he was not only speaking to me personally, he is addressing the members of Manitou Environmental Group Inc. and all of the ratepayers here at the Resort Village of Manitou Beach.

Michael Gaudet.


The board has a meeting this evening and the issue of a public meeeting around the lagoon issue is on the agenda.

I ran into Ken Dalgleish yesterday at the mail boxes here at the beach (he was busy measuring them for some reason) and politely asked him if we could count on his support to put a good word in to Council about hosting a public forum to discuss the sewage lagoons. He said "it has nothing to do with me" and then said "there will not be a public meeting". I asked him why not and he just said "F**k you!". I was a bit surprised at how he reacted. I asked why, as our elected mayor, he was saying the project had nothing to do with him. To which he replied "F**k you!". I then suggested to him that he wasn't simply talking to an individual, he was speaking to a larger group of concerned citizens, both members of MEGI and all of the rate-payers. I was very calm, knowing that this group has facts on it's side in this discussion. He replied "You heard what I said. F**k you!" So I just walked away, shaking my head.

Anyway, doesn't sound too promising that the present mayor is willing to come clean with the Resort Village's plans (or lack thereof) regarding the sewage lagoon upgrade/expansion through a public discussion. Which leads one to ponder...why all the secrecy? What have they got to hide? If there actually is a plan in place, why are they not eager, excited and proud to share it with the rate-payers?

Petition for Public Forum?

Hello MEGI members and friends.

A request was made to Bobbi Crittenden, administer of Resort Village of Manitou Beach, for the Village to hold an open public forum to discuss what plans, if any. are in the works to expand and/or upgrade the Village sewage lagoons. Here is the response from Ms. Crittenden to the request.

Attached is Sec 129 of the Municipalities Act regarding the process to have a public Meeting.

You have two options, one, you can write a letter to council for their August 20th meeting requesting that they hold a public meeting, you cannot dictate the time or place due to requirements that must be followed for a public meeting to be held (advertising time etc.).0r number two get the petition together as stated in the attachment.

Bobbi Crittenden
Administrator
Resort Village of Manitou Beach
Box 1 RR#1 Watrous SK S0K 4T0
(306) 946-2831 phone
(306) 946-2017 fax
manbe@sasktel.net
www.manitoubeach.ca

Page 78

cm-36.1

Municipalities Act

Public meeting

129(1) The mayor or reeve, when authorized by resolution of the council, may call a public meeting of the voters for the discussion of any municipal matter.

(2) The mayor or reeve shall call a public meeting to be held within 30 days after the receipt by the council of a petition requesting that a public meeting for the discussion of a municipal matter be held, if the petition is signed by:

(a) in the case of a resort village, 8% of the voters; or

(b) in the case of a municipality other than a resort village, the greater of 20 voters or the number of voters equal to 5% of the population of the municipality.

(3) The administrator shall determine the sufficiency of the petition and that determination is final.

(4) The council shall give public notice of the meeting.

(5) If a public meeting is held pursuant to subsection (2), the council may refuse to receive any further petition on the same or a similar subject filed within one year after the date of the public meeting.

2005, c.M-36.1, s.129.

Is a petition in order?
Thoughts?

Publishing a comment

The comment moderation on this blog allows for anyone to post. We have decided as a board to post any comment that is signed by the writer. Sorry, no anonymous posts will be published. However, if you wish to include your contact information with your comment while requesting that your post remain anonymous, we will honor your request. Look forward to hearing from you!

Meeting with Environmental Project Officer Gary Papic

MEGI invited our local Environmental Project Officer Gary Papic to a meeting with the BoD and he agreed. We met on Wednesday August 6th, 2008 to discuss our concerns around the existing sewage treatment lagoons at the Resort Village of Manitou Beach (RVMB) and what, if any, plans are in the works to upgrade the facilities.

After sampling effluent discharge and discovering the elevated levels of bacterial strain, MEGI cleared away the hearsay and rumors and established that the lagoons are NOT performing adequately at peak periods. (Please see blog post dated July 24th "Sewage Lagoon Run-off Analysis & Interpretation")

The reason the group felt it was important to meet with Gary Papic at this time is because we have asked the RVMB to explain what, if any, plans are in place to address this issue and our questions have been met with little or no meaningful response.

It is our position that the general public and the rate-payers in particular have an interest in understanding what steps are being taken to deal with the sewage lagoons, as they are at the present over-flowing and discharging high bacterial counts directly into the waters of Little Manitou Lake. As a Board we have established a policy of “ZERO TOLERANCE” for potentially harmful inputs into the lake, as it is a “closed basin system”. What goes in the lake stays in the lake, except through evaporation. We wish to raise public awareness around this issue so that the administration of the RVMB understands clearly that the health of this fragile ecosystem must be a number one priority for them in any plans they make for future sewage lagoon upgrades or expansions.

Our conversation with Gary Papic was very productive and informative. To summarize:

The RVMB has engaged the services of a certified, professional engineering firm to drill core samples to establish the most preferable location for a proposed lagoon expansion. The preference will be given to a site that features a clay layer, as clay acts as a natural barrier that effectively seals effluent in place as it is treated by whatever means is put in place.

There are two types of sewage treatment: 1) aerobic , depth of about 5 feet, uses oxygen, does not smell bad, and 2) anaerobic, depth of between 12 to 15 feet, without oxygen, is ‘stinky’ treatment.

Sask Environment is encouraging communities that are experiencing growth to upgrade to the aerobic with oxygen, the aerobic system said to be ‘fauculative’.

Mr. Papic said that there is professional engineering consultation to the project at this time and that there is an opportunity for input from the stakeholders ie: the ratepayers at RVMB and other interested parties. The first phase of the consultation involves extraction of core samples out of the ground to find the most ideal location for the lagoon upgrade. The lagoons must be lined with a layer of about 8-12 inches thickness of clay. A naturally-occurring clay bed would be an ideal location to excavate the lagoon upgrade. It will be quite expensive to bring clay in to a site to physically line the lagoon with a layer.

The optimum choice to mitigate possibly harmful inputs into the Little Manitou closed basin system would be a “aerobic total evaporation pond with clay liner, pond no deeper than 5 feet and located outside of the watershed into the closed basin”.

According to Mr. Papic, “The treatment process (at Resort Village of Manitou Beach at this time) is marginal. It needs work.”

One of the triggers that motivates serious consideration for sewage lagoon and other upgrades is the fact that when there is any application for expansion (eg: home and/or commercial construction and the infrastructure upgrades that must be implemented prior to any such expansion) to government the application involves Sask Power, Sask Energy, Sask Environment and other agencies. The present infrastructure is incapable of supporting any further expansion so there is a stop work order from the agencies until such a time that any required improvements/upgrades are made.

Any response or clarification of a definite time-frame for the sewage lagoon upgrade/expansion from the administration of the Resort Village of Manitou Beach to the stakeholders through a public notice would be welcome and appreciated. At this time, this group is looking for tangible assurances from the Village that they are working within a certain time-frame to deal with this important issue.

In addition, this group is prepared to issue an update on our most recent sewage effluent run-off sample test results collected July 30th, 2008 as supplied by the Saskatchewan Disease Control Laboratory Environmental Services through Saskatchewan Health. Samples were taken at the convergence of the effluent with the lake water and also at about 50 feet off-shore at the same location. The results are respectively for Fecal Streptococci: 250 organisms per 100 ml of lake water, 80 organisms per 100 ml of lake water. The results are respectively for Total Coliform 34, 500 organisms per 100 ml of lake water, 10 organisms per 100 mls of lake water. The results respectively for E Coli are 31 organisms per 100 mls of lake water, <10 organisms per 100 ml of lake water.

According to Phillip Bailey, Director of Environmental Services with the Saskatchewan Disease Control Laboratory, the public is advised to avoid swimming at or near the place where the sewage lagoon effluent mixes with the lake water. However, the lake water is diluting the bacterial organism counts down to negligible counts 50' away from the discharge area. The sample taken 50' away from the discharge area demonstrates that the water is of typical lake-water quality and of little or no concern.

This group maintains that the waters of Little Manitou Lake are a precious resource and must not be contaminated with any amount of sewage lagoon effluent and that an alternative as outlined above would be a more ecologically prudent course of action for any lagoon expansion/upgrade.

Healing Waters of Little Manitou Lake

The Resort Village of Manitou Beach typically hosts about 125,000 visitors per year and that number is growing. People come from all over the world to enjoy the 'Healing Waters' that this unique lake has to offer.





The super-buoyant waters of Little Manitou Lake hold swimmers in perfect suspension so that they experience the amazing sensation of weightlessness. Not only is this very beneficial for easing away aches and pains from muscles and joints, the minerals held in suspension also have been said to benefit those who suffer from arthritis and various skin problems. Many people actually harvest the minerals and oils to use them as the medicinal ingredients in a variety of salves, soaps, bath salts and mud-packs.

More Sewage Lagoon run-off testing

On July 30th, 2008 MEGI directors Fraser Murray and Michael Gaudet went out to the spot where the Resort Village of Manitou Beach's sewage lagoon discharge mixes with the lake water to take a water sample. After this, they took another sample about 50 feet off-shore.



These two samples were packed on ice and sent by STC bus to the Provincial Disease Control Laboratory on the following day. The results and interpretation of these tests will be published as soon as they are available so stay posted.

It is our hope that the bacterial counts observed from our first test will be much lower once the discharge hits the water and is diluted. The PH levels in the lake ought to act to kill off the bacteria as well. In any event, this group has established a "ZERO TOLERANCE" policy towards any potentially harmful inputs into Little Manitou Lake, as outlined in our Mandate and Mission Statement.