The fight to preserve Coatsworth bulk water station isn’t over, and a Chatham-Kent council member is calling on residents to keep up the pressure.
“The community has really spoken out about the need for this water station,” Ward 1 representative Melissa Harrigan told CKXS news. “The next step for community members who are interested is to participate, attend the meeting, reach out to members of the PUC, and tell them how important the bulk water station in Coatsworth is. Give them the tools that they might need to reconsider their decision.”
According to the Chatham-Kent municipal website, “regular monthly meetings of the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission (PUC) are tentatively set for the third Thursday of each month, commencing at the hour of 3 p.m., unless otherwise ordered by a Board Resolution.”
At last week’s council meeting, Harrigan urged council to approve her motion to have the PUC reconsider its decision to close the water station in October and keep it operational. Council voted 15-3 in favour of the motion.
A petition with over 200 signatures was presented to council along with deputations from community members who use the station.
“During farming season, there’s usually a lineup of farmers waiting to fill up tanks of water necessary to do their jobs, providing food and income for the municipality,” said Madison Cook in their deputation. “The additional driving time to Tilbury or Merlin is critical as farming is largely dependent on weather and daylight. More time out of a farmer’s day means less time in the fields tending to the crop during a critical time.”
Harrigan said she believes more conversations with the community that accesses the station are important.
“If this was any other asset or service, if it was a library or a leaf depot, there would certainly be a lot of engagement, a lot of surveying, and a lot of conversations with community members to better understand what the impact of the decision is,” said Harrigan.
“I was not convinced as a councillor that this is something that the PUC undertook as part of the process for the decision to close the Coatsworth bulk water station. And so I was quite pleased last night when council agreed that we would request that the PUC reconsider its decision.”
