Don Jones, one of source protection committee’s first members, retires from committee after more than decade of service

Source protection committee honours retiring member at July meeting in Holmesville

A municipal representative on the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Committee (SPC) has retired after more than a decade of service. The Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley SPC was Ontario’s first such committee when it was formed in 2007. Don Jones was an original member of that committee. He is a retired teacher and a former councillor for the Municipality of West Perth. He served as a Director of the Perth Stewardship Network. He also served as Chairman of the West Perth Wetlands Subcommittee, Water and Waste Water Committee, and Energy and Environment Committee.

The retiring SPC member attended the committee meeting on July 31, 2019 at the White Carnation Banquet Hall in Holmesville. Matt Pearson, Chairman of the SPC, presented a retirement gift to the long-time committee member and thanked him for his contributions. The Chair, who was also a committee member at the SPC’s inception (before being named Chair upon the retirement of Past Chair Larry Brown), said Jones made many valuable contributions over a dozen years.

“I certainly want to thank you, Don, for your service over 12 years and for your valuable contributions,” Pearson said. The committee member’s experience as a former educator and former municipal councillor were very beneficial to the work of the SPC, the Chair said.

“It has been a pleasure to serve on a committee of talented people with different ideas who have worked so well together,” Jones said. He said he’s gratified to see source protection plan policies being implemented to the benefit of protection of public health. “I am confident the policies developed by the committee will protect drinking water for the citizens of both watersheds in the future,” he said. He praised the two people who have served as committee chairpersons – Laurence Brown and Matt Pearson – as “two excellent chairmen” and he thanked his fellow committee members. “Thank you very much,” he said. “It was fun to serve on this committee and it’s a pleasure to see our discussion come to fruition with policies and progress going forward … it’s wonderful.” He also thanked the staff of the Maitland Valley and Ausable Bayfield conservation, and source protection, authorities.

There are five municipal representatives on the 15-member source protection committee. Retiring committee member Don Jones represented municipalities in the western part of the region. The region’s ‘West’ municipalities are: Bluewater; Central Huron; Perth South; South Huron; and West Perth. Also retiring from the committee is Mark MacKenzie, who represented the ‘East’ municipalities (Howick; Mapleton; Minto; North Perth; Perth East; and Wellington North). The Chair thanked the two members who are retiring from the committee: “I would like to thank Don and Mark for their years of service to the committee and their work which has helped to keep our municipal drinking water safe and clean,” he said. Taking over as municipal representative for the West municipalities is Dave Frayne and taking over as municipal representative for the East municipalities is Allan Rothwell.

The original 15 voting source protection committee members (2007) were Don Jones, Mike McElhone, Keith Black, Ian Brebner, Gib Dow, Karen Galbraith, Al Hamilton, Marilyn Miltenburg, Jim Nelemans, Matt Pearson, Bill Rowat, Gerry Rupke, Mert Schneider, Mike Strang, and Rowena Wallace. (John Vander Burgt joined the SPC as an agricultural representative in 2008). Bob Bressette represented Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation at the SPC. Non-voting committee liaisons included Bob Worsell (Local public health) and Jim Ginn (Source Protection Authorities).

The current members of the source protection committee are: Matt Pearson, Chair; MUNICIPALITIES: David Blaney, Central (Huron East; Morris-Turnberry; North Huron); Ian Brebner, South (Adelaide-Metcalfe; Lambton Shores; Lucan Biddulph; Middlesex Centre; North Middlesex; Warwick); Dave Frayne, West (Bluewater; Central Huron; Perth South; South Huron; West Perth); Allan Rothwell, East (Howick; Mapleton; Minto; North Perth; Perth East; Wellington North); Myles Murdock, North (Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh; Goderich; Huron-Kinloss; South Bruce); ECONOMIC SECTORS: Mary Ellen Foran, Agriculture; Keith Black, Agriculture; Bert Dykstra, Agriculture; Philip Keightley, Commerce; Bruce Godkin, Industry; OTHER SECTORS: Karen Galbraith, Public-at-large, Maitland Valley; Gerry Rupke, Public-at-large, Ausable Bayfield; Kerri Ann O’Rourke, Property Owner and Residents’ Associations; Jennette Walker, Environment; and John Graham, Environment.

The SPC members have worked with the public since 2007 to create local terms of reference, assessment reports, and source protection plans, which have been implemented since April of 2015. This work is made possible by the Ontario Clean Water Act, 2006, with funding from the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

Source protection planning policies help to reduce risk from 22 activities (such as fuel or chemical storage) that can pose a significant threat to municipal drinking water sources in certain circumstances (for example, in certain quantities and in the most vulnerable locations such as municipal wellhead protection areas). Plan policies focus on reducing risk that could pose a significant threat to drinking water in municipal wellhead protection areas A, B, and C. Policies in those relatively small areas reduce risk with tools including education and outreach, risk management plans, restrictions on land uses, or the prohibition of some activities in some cases. To find out about wellhead protection areas, and source protection plans, visit the local source protection region website at sourcewaterinfo.on.ca.

PHOTO – RETIRING SOURCE PROTECTION COMMITTEE MEMBER DON JONES HONOURED FOR MORE THAN DECADE OF SERVICE: Matt Pearson, Chair of the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley (ABMV) Drinking Water Source Protection Committee (SPC), at left in photo, presents a gift of acknowledgement to Don Jones, who is retiring after a dozen years of dedicated service as a member of the local committee devoted to the protection of municipal drinking water sources. The ABMV source protection committee was Ontario’s first and Don Jones was a member of the committee from the beginning. The retiring committee member attended the July 31, 2019 committee meeting at the White Carnation Banquet Hall in Holmesville where he was recognized for his past service to this public health initiative. Jones is the former municipal representative on the committee for the region’s western municipalities. He thanked the committee’s current Chair and Past Chair, the committee, and staff. He said the policies developed by the committee, which have been implemented since 2015, help to keep drinking water safe and clean in both the Maitland Valley and Ausable Bayfield source protection areas. To learn more visit sourcewaterinfo.on.ca