‘They have completely destroyed a cold water trout stream and all the creatures in it,’ says Bob Bowles; Department of Fisheries and Oceans has different opinion
LIV Communities’ Inch Farm development in Orillia has begun remediation work on the Silver Creek tributary its work decimated, but a local environmentalist calls their efforts “a disaster.”
Twice in April, rain storms and snow melt breached the storm water retention pond causing a heavy load of sandy sediment to fill in the stream for at least 500 metres.
The waterway was a healthy, cold water stream supporting trout and other aquatic life. The spill filled in the stream to a dry bottom with a mere trickle of water wending a way down.
“They have completely destroyed a cold water trout stream and all the creatures in it,” said Bob Bowles, a local naturalist, wetland evaluator and founder of the master naturalist course at Lakehead University.
“All the fish are dead and the crayfish are dead and the sand has flowed down into Hawk Ridge Golf Club,” said Bowles.
“They should be charged … I want them to restore that habitat. Take that fill away right down to the natural gravel bed,” urged Bowles.
But an official from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) disagrees.
DFO staff attended the site, on May 14, about a month after the spills. They did a site assessment and reviewed LIV Communities’ remediation plan, said Rachel Jones, a spokesperson for DFO.
“The incident did not result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, or death of fish, because most of the deposited material is located outside areas that are considered to be fish habitat,” said Jones.
Workers for LIV Communities Inch Farm development have used equipment to flatten the area around the Silver Creek tributary that was filled with fill from the site during an April storm, leaving it wide and muddy. Gisele Winton Sarvis/OrilliaMatters
“DFO has provided LIV Communities with advice on their proposed remediation and is working collaboratively with them to address the situation. The stream can be remediated through removal of deposited material and mitigation measures to stabilize what remains.”
As was their duty, LIV Communities workers reported the spill to the DFO and the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) in April. The stormwater retention ponds were quickly “repaired.”
Earlier this week, heavy equipment was used to widen and flatten the stream bed, cutting down growing grasses and creating a muddy plain with a very shallow water flow area.
Bowles visited the site Monday night (from an adjacent private property by permission) to witness the work.
“They have not restored the stream at all. It’s a big mud hole now,” Bowles said. “I thought they would dig the stream bed out with all the planking they had, bring the trucks in and take the fill away. They didn’t do that at all.
“All they did was level it out and made it a big mud area that the stream can’t get through. There is a log blocking it. It’s a disaster,” he said.
On Tuesday, a reporter (also on adjacent private property with permission) witnessed the wide, muddy stream bank and, closer to the development site, an excavator drawing out sand, loading it in a dump truck that dumped it back onto the development site.
OrilliaMatters reached out to LIV Communities with several questions including what their commitment is to restoring the stream and how they can prevent future spills with further development.
“Remediation work on the tributary has begun, and we expect it to be completed within the next couple of weeks,” said Ben Jones, director of land development for LIV Communities, in an emailed response.
“The remedial work in the tributary was planned in full consultation with DFO and the MECP and city staff are fully apprised of the work. Monitoring of the restored and enhanced erosion and sediment control measures also continues and will do so until development is complete,” said Jones, who did not answer specific questions.
On April 29, officials from the MECP attended the development site in Orillia with the city and the developer, LIV Communities, following the reported spill.
“Our visit confirmed a breach of a stormwater management pond that released sediment into a nearby tributary of Silver Creek,” said Gary Wheeler, a spokesperson for the MECP.
“The ministry has instructed the developer and the city to strengthen erosion and sediment controls and increase monitoring. LIV Communities is required to remediate the impacted creek and has retained qualified experts to develop a cleanup and restoration plan in coordination with federal fisheries officials,” said Wheeler.
“The ministry continues to oversee the response to ensure the environment is protected and impacts from the discharge are remediated. The developer has taken steps to contain the release and will be responsible for all costs associated with the cleanup,” said Wheeler.
DFO, meanwhile, has not engaged with the city regarding this incident but would do so should the city have questions, Jones said.
City to release its report soon
At the May 11 council meeting, council directed staff to prepare an update on the project, which will be made public in the near future, said Angela Grenier, Orillia’s manager of communications.
Bowles has been fighting the now approved 350-home development for many years. The site was formerly a healthy wetland forest. The stream forms the headwater of the Silver Creek and supported trout spawning. He contends the area should have been left a natural space.
“I told them not to build on that wetland to begin with — the basements will flood,” warned Bowles. “I told them the settling water ponds weren’t the way to go. Every time we get a storm, a tremendous amount of water flows through the Inch Farm. That was our flood abatement area for the City of Orillia.”
Initial work on the site involved cutting down approximately 2,000 trees. More recently, tonnes of landfill had been brought in to raise the soil above the water table, install underground services and build a road, named Brook Trout Drive.
Home construction hasn’t yet begun, but LIV Communities is looking to create 356 dwelling units — including single detached, semi-detached and townhouses — on 13.6 hectares on the former Inch Farm land.
Bowles isn’t confident the stream will be restored.
“In Cumberland Beach, they put a road through a wetland. That was inappropriate. They destroyed and segregated that wetland,” said Bowles referring to the LIV Communities/Bosseini Living’s Serenity Bay development in Cumberland Beach.
The plan for that development showed a wooden pedestrian walkway through the wetland toward Lake Couchiching, but a full road was built instead.
“They own Hawk Ridge Golf Club and property north of Hawk Ridge, so this will be developed right up to Division Road. How can we be ensured this won’t happen again?” questioned Bowles.
Mayor Don McIsaac did not respond to a request for comment on this story. Last week, he informed OrilliaMatters he would no longer entertain interview requests due to its commenting policy.