On occasion, the NCVA will support like-minded organizations to draw attention to an issue du jour.
So when José Dimayuga from Ecology Ottawa contacted the NCVA, looking to get a bit of exposure for an Action Alert that organization is undertaking, we thought this should be one of those times. Raise your hand if you are in FAVOUR of dumping sewage into the Ottawa River! Didn’t think so.
If you’ve ever been disappointed by a beach closure due to E. coli, or perturbed by the wafting scent of sewage on a warm summer day while strolling along the Ottawa River, this is an Action Alert that will resonate with you.
Read on for the latest. The following was provided by Ecology Ottawa.
ACTION ALERT!
Every year, the City of Ottawa dumps hundreds of millions of litres of untreated sewage directly into the Ottawa River. Now you have an opportunity to help stop this travesty once and for all. The province and the City of Ottawa have developed a plan, and both both agreed to put up their fair share of the money. All we need is federal funding in the upcoming 2012 federal budget. Click here to let Ottawa area members of parliament know that you want action to clean up the river! http://ecologyottawa.ca/our-community/take-action/ottawa-river-action-plan/
The city has developed the Ottawa River Action Plan to address this issue and the plan is already delivering results. In June, the city announced that recent infrastructure upgrades have cut the untreated sewage going into the river by more than half compared to measurements of four years ago. However, in 2011, the city still discharged 417-million litres of combined sewage and rainwater into the river—that is the equivalent of almost 166 Olympic-sized swimming pools full of sewage!
City council would like to move forward with the next phase of the Ottawa River Action Plan—the construction of major combined sewage overflow (CSO) storage facilities. CSO storage facilities will lower the amount of contaminants released to the Ottawa River, improving the water quality and possibly reducing the number of beach closures.
According to Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown, who has endorsed this letter-writing campaign, it is imperative that the city moves ahead with the Ottawa River Action Plan, with or without federal support. “But,” says Brown, “the Ottawa River is a key feature of the National Capital Region. The federal government should be doing everything it can to stop the dumping of untreated sewage in the river that runs through the nation’s capital.”
The province has indicated its willingness to contribute one-third of the cost, but the federal government has not yet made a similar commitment. We want to urge the federal government to commit to its third of the funding in the federal 2012 Budget. This is why we set-up an online letter writing campaign and we are asking you to go the website and write to your local Member of Parliament today: http://ecologyottawa.ca/our-community/take-action/ottawa-river-action-plan/
Please send a quick letter now to all Ottawa area MPs urging them to ensure that funding for the Ottawa River Action Plan is included in the federal 2012 Budget. The health of our rivers depends on you demanding action from our elected officials today.
For more information, contact us at:
Email: info@ecologyottawa.ca
Phone: 613-860-5353
You can view the Ottawa River Action Plan here:
VegOttawa Association 