Sewage lagoons wetlands park being proposed

The Harmony Residents Group has received the support of Niagara-on-the-Lake council for its proposal that sewage lagoons being decommissioned by Niagara Region on Lakeshore Road be retained as wetlands.

The non-profit residents group wants the waterfront property, which is owned by Parks Canada, to be opened to the public as a natural heritage park. Niagara Region has built a new sewage and waste-water treatment plant on the property that is expected to be operational within the next few weeks.

Brock Sansom, a representative of the residents group, told town council Monday that the region made a significant investment 50 years ago to create the sewage ponds, and it would cost less to retain them as wetlands than to fill them in.

“So, why not keep them and use them to create a natural wetland?” said Sansom. “Let Mother Nature reclaim the ponds and change them into environmentally-friendly habitats for wildlife and fauna.”

In 2015, a previous council wrote a letter of support for the Harmony Residents Group to Parks Canada, asking that the process be started to open the property for public access.

Monday, councillors voted to send a letter to Parks Canada and Niagara Region expressing their support for a natural heritage park with the retention of the ponds as wetlands.

“It’s a very important statement,” Coun. Gary Burroughs said. “The Harmony Group … has kept it going through the years.”

Council also approved a motion that Parks Canada be asked to hold an additional public meeting regarding the decommissioning of the ponds.