A local community group is accusing Hydro One of not taking its concerns seriously, despite the company’s commitment to minimize any impact on area water wells during the construction of its St. Clair Transmission Line project.
The group Water Wells First has met with Hydro One on multiple occasions this year regarding the planned powerline project, which would see a 230-kilovolt line linking a transformer station near Courtright to the Chatham area.
Water Wells First spokesperson Kevin Jakubec said his group has repeatedly asked Hydro One to commit to a groundwater baseline study, which would monitor area water wells before and after the construction of the transmission line.
He said a groundwater baseline study would ensure good environmental stewardship, good community relations and good engineering practice.
“How would you know if you’re having an impact or not if you’re not gathering the information to monitor your construction activities,” said Jakubec. “If you’re not gathering the information, there’s no way that you can substantiate those claims that you’re not going to have an impact… Hydro One, if they monitor, will be accountable to the people for their water wells.”
Chatham-Kent Council passed a motion at last week’s meeting to request more information from Hydro One on how the company intends to address the potential impact on the integrity of area water wells.
In a written deputation that was delivered to council ahead of the decision, Hydro One has committed to three measures aimed at addressing well water concerns;
- Ensuring tower foundations do not interact with the aquifer and remain between approximately 33ft to 100ft (depending on the depth of the soil) above the top of the aquifer layer.
- Not using pile driving to install tower foundations.
- Using screw (helical) piles which are widely used in sensitive
environments due to their simpler installation process and minimal noise and vibration levels.
Daniel Levitan, Hydro One’s VP of stakeholder relations, said local community feedback is a critical part of any project Hydro One takes, and they take all concerns very seriously.
“We’ve been engaging with [Water Wells First] from the beginning and we will continue to engage with them. In fact, we’ve already incorporated a lot of their feedback into the project and they’ve recently shared some additional information that we’re going to take back and consider as well.”
During a meeting on December 1, Jacubek said a scientific advisory team presented Hydro One with a map of the most sensitive area within the transmission line route, along with options on how water well integrity information could be gathered such as monitoring or sampling wells in the identified area.
It is unknown at this point whether or not Hydro One will commit to a groundwater baseline study.
“We’re in the middle of a process and it’s probably a little too early to say all of the steps we’ll necessarily be taking, but it’s absolutely something that we are taking in and are going to consider as part of the project,” said Levitan.
In early November, a draft environmental study report on the St. Clair Transmission Line was released online to provide the public a chance to review and comment on the proposed project.
Jakubec said he is calling on local residents to express any concerns they may have through Hydro One’s online forum, which can be found by clicking here.
The public comment period will close on Thursday, December 7.