Mayor of Casselman, Ont. looking for solutions to town's drinking water problems
Casselman, Ont. Mayor Genevieve Lajoie invited residents to talk about the town’s drinking water woes on Wednesday night. After weeks of water quality advisories in the summer of 2023, the mayor is determined to fix the problem once and for all.
The community currently gets its water from the South Nation River and when river levels go down in the summer the manganese level goes up, leaving the water smelly and discoloured. Manganese occurs naturally in the rocks and soil in the area.
The water tower in Casselman, Ont. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)
Last summer, the local health unit told residents the drinking water met standards, but they still recommended residents use bottled water for preparing baby formula or food and drinks for young people. That concerns Melanie Belisle, after her family and pets were forced to use bottled water and she does not want a repeat of that.
"We want to be able to just go to the tap and grab a glass of water and drink it but when it smells and looks yellow we can’t," Belisle said. "There is no price on safe water."
Lajoie supports a plan to switch the community's water from the South Nation River to the Ottawa River, but that comes with a hefty price tag. Unless the provincial and federal governments step up, there is no way the town can afford the $100 million price tag for a new pipeline connecting them with Rockland.
"I need the public to be involved in this. This is going to be a big decision we are going to be making so I think it’s important to get their feedback and their thoughts," Lajoie said. "Write to your MPs and MPPs, tell the government that they need to align their funding and help Casselman."
Lajoie says there are some other options available but none of them will offer a permanent solution and give the growing community the volume and quality of drinking water it needs. Lajoie will hold another public meeting on the plans on Friday, April 19 at 10:30 a.m. in the Town Hall on St-Jean Street.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Next 48 hours will be 'extremely challenging' for B.C. wildfire crews near Fort Nelson: officials
A wildfire burning dangerously close to Fort Nelson, B.C., has grown to more than 50 square kilometres, and officials are warning that the blaze's behaviour is expected to become more volatile over the next 48 hours.
Southern Ont. man charged with attempted murder in Timmins shooting
One of two men wanted for attempted murder in Timmins has been arrested, while a warrant has been issued for a second suspect, who fled police on foot.