Barrie- Protecting Lake Simcoe

(Barrie, ON) Further demonstrating a strong commitment to preserving the health of our environment, Monday night, by consent, General Committee passed the preferred alternative solution for the Ford Street Stormwater Management Facility Retrofit Municipal Assessment.

This is just the latest initiative endorsed by the City aimed at improving the health of Lake Simcoe and the environment as a whole. Over the last 20 years the City of Barrie has grown significantly and despite this growth, phosphorus loads reported by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) at station K39 in Kempenfelt Bay have generally declined over the same time period. “With Barrie’s state of the art wastewater treatment and water supply plants and storm water retrofit initiatives, growth in Barrie will have a lesser effect on the Lake than growth elsewhere in the watershed,” says Jon Babulic, CAO.

The Provincial and Federal Governments have provided significant leadership and funding commitment to the protection of the environment. This partnership between the City, the Federal and Provincial levels of Government has demonstrated the joint dedication in ensuring the health of Lake Simcoe.

The City’s continued commitment to environmental stewardship is demonstrated in numerous projects including:
• The construction of the state of the art Surface Water Treatment Plant to supply safe drinking water to Barrie Residents, protecting ground water resources
• The technologically advanced Wastewater Pollution Control Centre which is being expanded to 76,000 m3 per day to meet more stringent effluent criteria
• LSCUF (Lake Simcoe Clean Up Fund) projects include: o Kidds Creek (Donald to Eccles (property acquisition and naturalization of watercourse)
o Kidds Creek Tributary West of Eccles (naturalization and stabilization)
o Mechanical storm water quality devices (Heritage Park) o Sophia Creek (naturalization and stabilization)
• $19 million Storm Water retrofit program
o D’Ambrosio (partnership with LSRCA)
o LV14 north of Caplan Drive and west of Bryne Dr., detailed design underway (partnership with MOE and LSRA

“The health of Lake Simcoe is a top priority and we are always seeking new ways to improve efficiencies surrounding its well being. The City continues to develop and implement projects that focus not only on protecting the environment but also enhancing the quality of life for area residents,” says Richard Forward, G.M., Infrastructure, Development & Culture Division.

Positioning Barrie at the forefront of environmental issues and enhancing public spaces throughout the City are just a couple of Council’s Strategic Priorities.

For an extensive listing of other projects that the City has developed to address environmental improvements, as well as future projects, please go to www.barrie.ca.