Residents oppose request to change rules for gravel pit

WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP — Residents spoke out against a controversial request to change rules around gravel extraction at the Jigs Hollow pit on Tuesday.

Preston Sand and Gravel Co. Ltd. asked Woolwich to lift a holding provision that prevents them from going under the water table to extract gravel.

It was standing room only in Woolwich Township council chambers on Tuesday as residents piled in to a committee of the whole meeting to oppose the request.

It will destroy farmland forever and replace it with a “useless” lake, Conestogo resident Gordon Haywood told the committee.

“I’m asking you to deny it (the request). Have the site restored to agricultural uses.”

The gravel pit at 125 Peel St. has been mired in controversy for years. Preston Sand already had permission to extract gravel from the site as long as it stays 1.5 metres above the water table. This deal was struck after the company’s application to extract gravel went to the Ontario Municipal Board in 2013.

But pooling water was discovered during prep work the following year. It turns out the water table was higher than originally determined. This means the company will need to go under the water table to get to the gravel.

Communities close to the pit, Winterbourne to the east and Conestogo to the south, don’t want the pit there at all.

If the company digs below the water table, the land can’t be rehabilitated back to farmland.

Residents worry about this loss of prime agricultural land and the impact to groundwater and habitats.

According to a staff report, The Grand River Conservation Authority asked council to defer the issue until Preston Sand responds to some of its comments about hydrological and fish habitat assessments. Staff said to the application is “complex.”

A letter from Region of Waterloo, also in the report, says the region doesn’t support lifting the provision at this time. It also had a number of issues it wants the company to address first.

Both agencies said they will peer review some of Preston’s studies such as hydrogeology, noise and traffic.

If allowed to dig below the water table, Preston will dig gravel from 6.5 metres to 14 metres deep, a consultant told committee on Tuesday.

Preston’s plan, if the holding provision is lifted, is to turn the pit into a 35-acre pond when finished. It expects to extract gravel from the pit for 14 years at 150,000 tonnes per year.

The township has the power to lift the company’s holding provision, but Preston will still need approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to go below the water table.

“This is the wrong pit in the wrong place,” resident Tony Dowling said. “It’s a huge mistake. It’s a mistake you don’t have to allow to happen.”

The township will continue to evaluate the application and conduct its own peer reviews.