1 THE MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH PERTH COUNCIL AGENDA Date ...

GRCA CurrentJune 2013 • Volume 18, Number 6GRCA General MembershipChairJane Mitchell1st Vice-Chair Vic Prendergast2nd Vice-ChairJan d’AillyTownships of Amaranth, EastGarafraxa, Melancthon and Southgateand Town of Grand ValleyTom NevillsTownships of Mapletonand Wellington North Pat SalterTownship of Centre WellingtonJoanne Ross-ZujTown of Erin, Townships ofGuelph/Eramosa and PuslinchJohn BrennanCity of GuelphBob Bell, Maggie LaidlawRegion of WaterlooLes Armstrong, Todd Cowan,Jan d’Ailly, Rob Deutschmann,Jean Haalboom, Ross Kelterborn,Geoff Lorentz, Claudette Miller,Jane Mitchell, Warren StauchMunicipality of North Perthand Township of Perth EastGeorge WickeHalton RegionJ. Barry LeeCity of Hamilton Jeanette JamiesonOxford County Bruce BanburyCounty of BrantBrian Coleman, Steve SchmittCity of BrantfordRobert Hillier, Vic PrendergastHaldimand and Norfolk CountiesLorne Boyko, Fred MorisonRockwood turns 50The breathtaking beauty of Rockwood makes itunique to southern Ontario and it turns 50 thisyear.In 1925 the successful Harris Woolen Millclosed and owner William Harris decided to usethe stunning landscape that surrounded it for apark called Hi-Pot-Lo Park. Visitors were chargedadmission.In 1959, the GRCA purchased the mill and 79hectares of land from the Harris family. A coupleof years later, the road system, parking lots, gatehouseand pavilion were constructed, laying theground work for the conservation area to open in1963. Today, over 85,000 patrons visit every yearto enjoy the geological wonders of the park andvisit the historic and beautiful mill ruins. The parkoffers 110 campsites, canoeing, hiking, fishing andswimming. The pond is stocked with brown trouteach spring.The geology and natural heritage mean it is aprovincially significant area for its biology, geologyand caves.Join the healthy hikesThe GRCA and its partners have kicked off anew hiking campaign called Healthy Hikes.Healthy Hikes encourage people to energizetheir body and mind by spending more time innature at GRCA conservation areas, nature centresand trails. Participants can also hike at more than270 other conservation areas throughout Ontariomanaged by Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities.The program continues until October.Ontarians are encouraged to take the HealthyHikes challenge by registering online and thenrecording hiking time at www.healthyhikes.ca.They can earn bonus points by participating inqualifying activities at conservation areas andnature centres. There are $2,500 worth of greatprizes up for grabs.Information on GRCA events is on the GRCAwebsite at www.grandriver.ca/calendar. Otherorganizations partnering with the GRCA, ConservationOntario and the conservation authoritiesinclude the Canadian Mental Health Association,Trees Ontario, York Region, the Ontario TrailsCouncil, Ducks Unlimited Canada, The BruceTrail Conservancy and the David Suzuki Foundation.Dry with rainstormsMay was mostly dry, but this was interspersedwith storms that brought wet weather.During the second weekend in May temperaturesdropped, resulting in a mix of rain, hail andeven snow. Later on May 21, farmers in the Wallensteinarea reported 100 mm of rain between 5p.m. and 6 p.m. The flow at St. Jacobs in the ConestogoRiver changed from 4.4 cubic metres persecond at 7 p.m. to 50 cms at 8 p.m. and 91 cms by9 p.m.As a result, on May 22 the GRCA issued a highwater safety statement to advise the public ofchanging river conditions. Another advisory wasissued May 31 due to rain during another storm.May was also about 1.8 degrees above normal atthe Shand Dam, however this year has seen swingsin temperature. Groundwater levels have recoveredfrom the dry period in 2012 and are nearnormal for this time of year, with water levels inwells still increasing. Reservoirs are in their normaloperating range for the time of year.GRCA moving to yellowbooms at damsCanoeists and anglers in the Grand River watershedare going to start seeing booms of a differentcolour at some dams.The GRCA will gradually install yellow boomsto replace orange warning booms that are installedupstream of some GRCA dams. The change isconsistent with regulations set by Transport Canada,which oversees navigable waterways. Thebooms are made of plastic floats joined togetherby a chain.Yellow booms were installed this year on Cedarwww.grandriver.ca35Grand River Conservation Authority