Region concerned about algae, trees
It may be the dead of winter, but Niagara Region’s politicians are thinking green after a pair of motions last week addressed growing environmental concerns.
The first motion drew attention to algae that plagues Lake Erie in the summer.
Welland Coun. Paul Grenier, who authored the motions, said if the algal bloom went unchecked, it would devastate lakeside communities on both sides the border.
Grenier’s second motion was about trees. The motion directs staff to explore the possibilities of establishing a “tree purchasing co- operative” to bolster Niagara’s urban canopy.
Both passed unanimously. Grenier said the algal bloom at the western end of Lake Erie this past summer was the largest on record and threatened beaches, fish and wildlife, and drinking water.
Were that bloom to migrate east, it would have a devastating impact on Port Colborne and Fort Erie, he said. Both communities draw their drinking water from the lake.
Recreational enjoyment of the water off their shores is an important part of both their identities, he added.
“You can see from satellite photos the bloom concentrated around Toledo this past summer,” Grenier said. “It’s creating a great deal of danger. You have dead fish washing up on the shore covered in green slime.”
The area surrounding the western end of the lake is an agricultural heartland. Intensive farming in Michigan and Ohio, as well as southwestern Ontario, can add massive amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen to the water through runoff. The nutrients that enter the water foster the excess growth of blue- green algae.
When the algae dies and decomposes, the oxygen in the water drops to levels too low for aquatic life to survive.
Grenier’s motion endorses a 2016 resolution by a binational coalition of mayors and other local leaders, known as the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative. The coalition is calling for a reduction of the inflows of phosphorus into Lake Erie by at least 40 per cent. It would accomplish that by having all levels of government establish enforceable regulations on phosphorous and nutrient flows into the lake.
Grenier concedes he is swimming against the tide.
“I think this type of resolution sends a message that we are watching — and both the province and the feds are on notice,” Grenier said.
Niagara’s end of Lake Erie is deeper and colder, giving it a layer of protection that the much shallower western basin doesn’t enjoy. That western basin begins in the Point Pelee area.
St. Catharines Coun. Tim Rigby said there is no room for complacency. It’s something he learned about during his time as mayor of St. Catharines and a member of the Great Lakes coalition.
“We need to do more than simply endorse this and pass it on,” he said. “This problem is growing. It is getting worse. We need to start making it a mandate for Niagara. We have to go to the province. We have to go to the feds. We have to keep talking about it.”
Grenier’s second motion holds more promise. It authorized staff to look at the logistics of forming a “regional tree purchasing cooperative” with the lower- tiered municipalities and other agencies including Niagara Parks, Niagara College, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, Trees Canada and Nature Conservancy Canada.
Grenier said disease, age and weather are degrading the urban tree canopy, which, when healthy, provides communities with “character of place and quality of life and health.”
The biggest problem is caused by a tiny beetle, the emerald ash borer, which is about 30 millimetres in length but has devastated the ash tree stock across the country.
Grenier said removing and replacing trees is an expensive proposition for property owners. The bill can run into the thousands. Cities and towns have more resources at their disposal but also struggle with the costs.
The Region’s public works committee will get a progress report on June 26.
Canadian Forest Service scientists have estimated the costs for treatment, removal and replacement of trees affected by emerald ash borer in Canadian municipalities may reach $ 2 billion over a 30- year period.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik said he would like to see the Ministry of Municipal Affairs change rules to allow cities and towns to classify trees as infrastructure. That accounting adjustment would allow local government to raise money for robust reforestation programs through debentures. Grenier said estimates on the damage caused by the emerald ash borer will reach the $ 1- billion mark across the province in the coming years. He said Toronto’s estimate is $ 74 million. Guelph has budgeted $ 8 million over the next 10 years for trees.
“The request here in Niagara is to bring everybody to the table so we can improve the buying and delivery of services — not only on publicly owned lands — but for all our residents,” Grenier said.
He said a typical residential bill for an arbourist to remove and replace a couple of large trees can surpass $ 5,000.
“If we had a true co- operative, you could bring the experts together and reduce costs,” Grenier said.
“For instance, Wainfleet doesn’t have an arbourist but Welland does. St. Catharines has three or four. You could bring all the expertise together and pool our resources.”
He then smiled, and added, tongue firmly in cheek, “We could demonstrate that regional government actually works sometimes.”