Grey Highlands council has backed away from a request that it made to the Drinking Water Source Protection committee that the Bowles Bluff area be given elevated status in its upcoming study - provided the province funds the extra study costs.

Council at its regular meeting Monday morning received a letter from the Committee requesting more information about the Bowles Bluff issue.

"The Bowles Bluff cluster of wells has been included into the Proposed Terms of Reference document," said Source Water Protection committee Project Manager Don Smith in the letter.
Smith requested a copy of council's resolution requesting elevated status, a description of the area to be covered by the cluster and the details concerning the individual wells within the cluster.

The letter also suggested that committee staff meet with municipal staff to develop a recommendation for how to proceed with the Bowles Bluff situation.

"This letter concerns me. We need to make it very clear that we will not participate unless there is funding from the province," said Deputy Mayor Dave Fawcett. "I don't want this to be elevated status unless the province pays. If they won't make that commitment, we shouldn't" said the Deputy Mayor.

Members of council were concerned that the ball was rolling so quickly on the elevated status issue and requests were already being made for meetings with municipal staff.

"I don't think this was council's intention (when the resolution requesting elevated status was passed at the last council meeting). This was to be done by the committee," said Mayor Brian Mullin.

CAO Kelley Coulter informed council that municipal staff had not arranged any meetings with Source Water Protection committee staff. She also explained that a designation of elevated status didn't take into consideration where the funding for additional studies would come from.

"If the committee deems it elevated, it's elevated. It doesn't matter who is paying for it," said Coulter.
Mayor Mullin said if the CAO's comments were accurate, then Grey Highlands council needed to reconsider its position on the matter.

"If that is the interpretation council has to make a decision whether is wants (elevated status) in the Terms of Reference," said Mullin, noting that there are other areas in the municipality that would also want an increased status in the water study.

"There are a lot of well clusters out there. The municipality won't be expending funds on all of them," he said.

Councillor Dave Clarke pointed out that the province was preparing a guidance document for how source water studies will be conducted. Clarke suggested council might want to back off on the Bowles Bluff elevated status request until it sees the provincial guidelines.

Councillor Stewart Halliday wasn't sure what else Grey Highlands council needed to say on the matter.

"Our resolution was quite clear. Unless we get provincial funding, don't include the elevated status," he said.

After the discussion council agreed to pass a resolution withdrawing its request for Bowles Bluff to be given elevated status until such time as the provincial guidelines for the study are drafted.