our water is under threat

We want to hear your thoughts – Take our Survey at this link

A study grant proposal on our water is currently in progress. But we need a moratorium on the extension of the Teedon gravel pits until the study is complete. We can’t risk any more damage to the water like evidence of silt to progress further. The time is now for a moratorium.

We’re fighting against the extension of the Teedon Gravel Pit and its potential to pollute our drinking water. Our water has been described as the purest water ever tested but it’s under threat.

where is the aquifer?

Click here for more maps

Did you know…

Groundwater

Groundwater used by private wells in Tiny Township is not protected by the Clean Water Act.

Extension

The company that owns the Teedon Pit, CRH Canada (which owns Dufferin) wants to extend the Teedon Gravel Pit. The Sarjeant Company has a license to dig two new gravel pits in Concession 1 above the Alliston Aquifer and to extract gravel below the water table at one of them.

Extraction

Aggregate extraction (gravel and sand pits) in Tiny Township has increased by more than 60% since 2000.

Environmental Risks

In addition to the potential environmental risks posed by the extraction and washing of gravel so close to the aquifer, the pit running at capacity could mean 40 trucks an hour coming in and out of Tiny Township.

Join the Tiny Township community and demand a five year Moratorium on the gravel pits extension

I WANT A MORATorIUM

how you can help

show your support

Donate at least $10 and get a lawn sign to show you care about our water!

Check out the background information on this site and follow us on social media. Write your government representatives and ask them to save our water by imposing a moratorium on the extraction of gravel above the aquifer.

“The township or county level should be passing groundwater protection bylaws. I don’t think it’s ever been done in Ontario but there’s a mechanism to do that and you should pass it in your township council… Run it up the flagpole and then see how badly you get beaten. Otherwise you have absolutely no power.”
Dr. John Cherry, speaking to a public meeting in Elmvale, April 28 2019

our water…our future

What You Need to Know:

We’re fighting against the extension of the Teedon Gravel Pit and the renewal of its permit to take water to wash gravel.
This gravel pit is in Tiny Township in Ontario over the aquifer that supplies pure water for much of North Simcoe and beyond and was threatened over 10 years ago by the proposal to establish Dump Site 41.
Residents near the Teedon gravel pit, who rely on groundwater because there is no municipal water system in their part of Tiny Township, began reporting silt in their wells, local streams and springs soon after the Teedon Pit expanded in 2008-2009, though the connection between the pit operation and the impacts on wells is disputed by the province and the pit owner. Silt has also been briefly observed recently in the well water at the water kiosk on County Road 27, just north of Elmvale.
The current pit owners appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (formerly OMB) because of the Township’s failure to amend its Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw to allow for the extension of the pit above the aquifer. FoTTSA has been granted party status in the appeal.
Protection of drinking water is so important in this case that lawyers with the Canadian Environmental Law Association agreed to represent FoTTSA.
FoTTSA needs to raise at least $100,000 to cover all the other legal costs including hiring expert witnesses.

about us

We are a diverse group of grass roots organizations working to protect our water: FoTTSA, The Council of Canadians, AWARE Simcoe, The Friends of the Waverley Uplands, Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition, neighbours of the Teedon Pit, and many individuals concerned about damage to the aquifer.

contacts

info@friendsofthewaverleyuplands.ca

secretary.fottsa@tinycottager.org

FoTTSA – The Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Associations
42 Haslemere Rd.
Toronto, Ontario M4N 1X6

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