Eganville – Comments by Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Mayor David Mayville about addressing water levels on Round Lake with the province, which could lead to the possibility of revisiting the Bonnechere River Watershed Management Plan (BRWMP), did not go over well at Bonnechere Valley council last week.

“Mayor Mayville’s comments have created a bit of consternation,” Mayor Jennfier Murphy told a committee meeting of council on Tuesday.

His comments about addressing the water levels with provincial officials at the upcoming ROMA meeting were made at a KHR council meeting which is available on You Tube. The mayor said he wanted to “put a bug in someone’s ear about the water levels.”

He said they are drastically down and people are having to walk through mud to get to the water on Round Lake.

Mayor Murphy said the comments have created concern and she wanted the position of BV to be made clear.

“The plan was many hours, many nights in the making,” she said.

Many partners were involved in the discussion and it took a long process, involving many elected officials and the Ministry of Natural Resource and Forestry (MNRF), she said.

“The idea was to level the playing field because nobody is happy with the water levels,” she said.

The plan addressed the flooding on Round Lake and Golden Lake and the management of water levels. With conflicting opinions based on preferences for water levels, boating interests, fishery preservation and concerns over repeated flooding damage, it was a challenging topic. Former Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Mayor Janice Tiedje worked hard to see the plan come to fruition which would preserve the water levels for enjoyment by swimmers and boaters and the fishery as well as protect homes from flooding by lowering the lake substantially in the fall.

The plan went into place last year and both last year and this year water levels on Round Lake and Golden Lake are substantially lower in the fall than in previous years. Flooding issues were of great concern around the lakes especially in 2017 and 2019.

“The previous mayor put her heart and soul into this,” Mayor Murphy said.

Her concern was “Mayor Mayville wants to meet with the minister and change the plan,” she told council.

His statements were seen online and widely spread.  

“This resulted in a weekend of phone calls,” she said.

“I would respectfully ask that we send a letter and say it is not necessary to revisit the plan,” she said to council.

Councillor Merv Buckwald agreed, noting a lot of work went into the plan.
“We even had the federal government involved,” he said. “Are we going to go through all that again?”

Re-visiting the plan is “opening a can of worms”, the councillor said.

“It is a long process,” Councillor Brent Patrick said.

As a stakeholder he said it is important to have a voice. He also voiced his objection to Mayor Mayville going to the province and asking for the plan to be re-opened.

“The conservation needed to take place with other stakeholders before going to a higher authority,” he added.

Mayor Murphy said the plan was carefully looked at by various stakeholders and levels of government.

“Everybody had their opportunity to weigh in and see what the plan should look like,” she told council.

“The plan has been working,” she added.

“It benefits all the stakeholders,” agreed Coun. Patrick.

Council agreed to have a letter sent to the MNRF stating BV is not in favour of re-visiting the plan.