KILLALOE – “It has been a long and tedious process. The agencies have been cooperative. They told us that it would never happen and it is happening. We’ve had real good cooperation from the agencies and we’re finally able to tie down what it is we need to do so that we can move forward to do it.”
That’s Mayor of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards’ (KHR), Janice Visneskie-Moore’s, view of the amendment process for the Bonnechere River Water Management Plan. The plan was written in 2004 after a two-year public consultation process.
The water management plan sets out the water levels allowed in each reach of the river from Round Lake down to Castleford, where the Bonnechere enters the Ottawa River.
Renfrew Power Generation (RPG), formed in 2000, and wholly owned by the township of Renfrew, monitors and implements the water management plan on the Bonnechere River controlling dams at Round Lake, Golden Lake, Lake Clear. The company generates electricity at its Renfrew dam.
Since its creation, the water management plan was believed to be flawed by those from Round Lake who were part of the standing advisory committee. Their concern was the level set at Round Lake was too high, resulting in frequent flooding and shoreline damage during the winter as ice expands.
“I have been working on this issue for 16 years, I believe, and I could never get cooperation. I could never ever get a minister interested in trying to move forward with this and it is because of Mr. Yakabuski that we are able to do it.”
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