The Township of Ramara is hoping one dirty word will help clean up a mess in Lagoon City.
At its meeting Monday, council amended its bylaw that prohibits the dumping of waste in Lagoon City. One word was added to the list of prohibited material: “feces.”
The problem was brought to the township’s attention by the Lagoon City Parks and Waterways Commission, a committee of council.
“Council was quite shocked that people would put their dog feces and cat feces in the canals instead of putting it in the organics bin, where it belongs,” Mayor Basil Clarke said. “Even if you’re raking goose feces up, we assume you’re not going to throw it in the canal.”
Indeed, goose feces seems to be biggest problem.
“The geese come up and some people are pushing the feces into the canal, which leads to weed growth,” said deputy clerk Cathy Wainman. “That would just increase phosphorus levels in the water, polluting the canals.”
The bylaw that was amended has been in place since 1998. It relates to Lagoon City specifically, as the township has jurisdiction over the canals but not Lake Simcoe. Also on the list of prohibited material are ashes, garbage, refuse, domestic waste, grass, leaves, garden clippings and garden waste.
Those who violate the bylaw could be fined between $250 and $5,000 under the Provincial Offences Act. That shouldn’t be the only incentive to abide by the rules, though.
“A lot of money is spent on getting weeds out of the canal,” Wainman said, noting that cost is on the taxpayer. “There are tons and tons and tons of weeds hauled out of these canals every summer. Anything people can do to prevent weed growth, the better.”
Clarke said he hasn’t, in his 18 years on council, seen the township have to be so specific about something so seemingly obvious.
“Litter, yes, but this one was kind of a surprise,” he said. “With all the awareness out there about how we have to protect the lake, I can’t believe people would do this.”
