SILVER LAKE RESTORATION FUND RECEIVES BOOST FROM CWL

May 22, 2012 — Administrator

St. Cecelia’s Catholic Women’s League May 16, 2012

Photo by Gordon Leaker

The Catholic Women’s League of St. Cecelia’s, Port Dover. gathered at their last general meeting for the season on Wednesday May 16. Visiting guest, Diane Leaker, delivered a note of appreciation on behalf of the Friends of Silver Lake. The FOSL group were delighted by the unexpected news that the CWL was awarding the proceeds of a special charity Bingo Fund Raiser to the Silver Lake Restoration Fund in the amount of $560.00.  The CWL is well known in Port Dover for their support of schools, hospital and other worthy causes.

When asked why Silver Lake Restoration had been selected by the group, Chair Maureen Rossitter opened the floor to the group. The women were passionate in their responses:

  •  “Our Motto is About God and Canada. That includes our Community here in Port Dover”
  • ” We are a sisterhood that supports worthy causes in our community.”
  • ” Silver Lake is our heritage.”
  • ” Silver Lake is our community and our identity.”
  • “Silver Lake is the subject of our local poetry, stories and music.”
  • ” One of our young people received a university scholarship because the lake provided opportunity for rowing as a recreational activity.”
  • “We moved here to be close to the wildlife and water related activity in the wetlands and the lake.”
  • ” Our economic development depends on it. “ 

The CWL has 103 paid up members. They have a mission and it comes through loud and clear  

GOD  and COMMUNITY!

It sure feels great to know that our community is behind us. But then, that is Port Dover and why people come back to live here after finding the grass is not so green in other places!  By the way, this following photo posted by Tim Warriss this week is a reminder that we need to get the water back in the Lake.

Tim calls this picture “8 of 11″.  He comments ” This brood of ducklings is 11 strong, here are a few of the more independent ones poking at the mud in Silver Lake.

8 OF 11

Okay, you think Tim may be exaggerating that Mom has 11 offspring. His attention to detail means he stuck around long enough to ensure these little ones were not going to get stuck in the mud. The rest of the sibs and Mom as well are in the next photo. He has added a catchy title to the shot! If you click twice on the photo, you will get the full screen view.

“The Whole Fam Damily”

By the way, we understand that not only ducks are getting stuck in the mud. We hear that a couple of adventurous children were exploring the evolving jungle that is developing in the wetlands. They were having difficulty getting out of the muck and needed adult help.

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SILVER LAKE THE UNSOLVED MYSTERY!

May 19, 2012 — Administrator
Silver Lake Below its silvery surface, it harbours a mystery!

Silver Lake Below Its Silver Surface it harbours mystery!

And just what is this lingering mystery? No one knows who owns the land below the water! Or perhaps it could be more accurately said that no one will admit to owning the land. There are legal records to show that the dam was expropriated from the private owners by the Region of Haldimand Norfolk. Now that legal entity no longer exists. But the land below the lake is another mystery as well.

SNC Lavalin Water Sampling Report: At the request of Norfolk County Administration, SNC Lavalin was engaged to undertake an environmental assessment of the soil in the Lake. They submitted their report with a request to carry out expanded sampling.  The last report submitted in April 2010 outlines the results of their assessment. In a 140 page report attached to this posting by hyperlink, SNC Lavalin detail all the activities taken on, the outcomes of the sampling and the issues related to removing certain pockets of the accumulated sediment from the lake bed where the sediment is contaminated above the acceptable level.  This contaminated sediment may need special handling when it is removed and there would be extra costs associated in disposing of toxins that exceed the allowable levels. And so this explains the two years of secrecy about why the dam has not been repaired and why the lake bed has been left as a haven for mosquito larvae and the deceivingly beautiful and damaging fields of purple loose strife! It would seem that there is a safety issue going on whichever way we wish to view things. Our choices are:

Pay the money, fix the lake and enjoy the environmental, recreational and economic benefits of a Lake as we have done for 150 years or leave the Lake and wetlands as they are, a contaminated swamp and a breeding ground for West Nile Virus and destructive weeds.

It does seem odd that anyone could think  this lake bed is privately owned . There are no tax records in recent history. In those circumstances when taxes are not paid, the  land reverts to the public land. For an interesting read, please click on the following link (remember you will be asked to click twice).

SNC Lavalin Report 10Apr19

You will note that we have added a talented new photographer to our team. Tim Warris has taken almost daily pictures of Silver Lake and has been sharing them with Face Book friends. He appears to be a dedicated naturalist as well as gifted photographer. In his photo below, he managed to capture in his lens  “The Monster in Silver Lake”!  Forget Nessie, we have our own aquatic mystery creature. We need to get our Lake back to its former state. In this writer’s opinion, these mystery creatures are our heritage and they deserve better from us.

Tim describes this picture in his own words:

The Silver Lake Monster. Hiding under a fallen tree, this guy is the smaller of the two that have been hanging around the old dock next to the Lion’s Club building.

The Monster of Silver Lake

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GOOD NEWS UPDATES FOR SILVER LAKE

May 14, 2012 — Administrator

Harmony on Silver Lake

Meeting with Ministries

While all appears calm on Silver Lake this lovely spring evening, the relaxed scene in no way reflects the activity of our Directors from the Port Dover Waterfront Enhancement Association. They have been running at top speed in recent days following up on all the bureaucratic details  that must be attended to in order to keep the project top of mind with various ministries and the municipality.   While small steps have been taken, all positive news is cause to share and celebrate.

For your information, key executive members of the Friends of Silver Lake Committee met last week with 2 representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, 2 reps from Long Point Region Conservation Authority and 1 rep from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The rep from the Ministry of Environment was unable to meet but did provide comments by mail regarding our draft plan for the Lake.

And the results were:

  • The group in attendance made favourable comments regarding our draft plan!
  • The MNR reps did not identify any “show stoppers” from their perspective at this point Phase 1 and Phase 2.!
  • We were advised that the Ministry of the Environment would be our first contact point for any work related to the restoration of Silver Lake. For that reason, it was suggested that it would be worthwhile for the Friends of Silver Lake to meet separately with the Ministry of Environment to clarify expectations regarding next steps!

Still to be resolved: There is still the issue of the dam – a separate issue yet to be determined by MNR – and also the question of silt contamination which is a MOE issue.  The County has provided the MNR with additional information regarding their application to repair Misner Dam and  MNR is currently reviewing this information. We have been cautioned that this is an “iterative process” that may require some more “back and forths” between the MNR and County before the MNR is able to rule on the County’s request for a permit.

The FOSL team is in process of arranging a separate meeting with  the Ministry of Environment as soon as possible. Following this meeting, we will plan next steps.

Other good news

We are in receipt of a report from the Municipality on the Quality of Water in the Lynn River System. The link to the full report is provided below.

For those of us who are not water techies, we can be pleased to know that we now have a comprehensive water quality testing program in Norfolk and it is working well!

The Simcoe Waste-water Treatment Facility (WWTF) has recently undergone capital upgrades in order to increase the rated capacity of the facility.  On November 10, 2010 the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) issued Certificate of Approval # 6612-8AEJ93.  This certificate increased the rated capacity of Simcoe WWTF to 15,400 m3/day.  It also specifies the sampling/monitoring requirements for the effluent from the WWTF.

On April 14, 2011, the MOE issued an amendment to Certificate of Approval # 6612-8AEJ93.  This Certificate of Approval amendment requires the implementation of a Lynn River Water Quality Monitoring Plan.  The plan was prepared by R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd and has been approved by the MOE.  This plan has established the following monitoring requirements as a condition of the Certificate of Approval for the Simcoe WWTF:

Water Quality Monitoring

Sampling at 5 locations along the Lynn River :

  •  one upstream of the Simcoe WWTF
  •  one at the Simcoe WWTF effluent outfall, and
  •  three at downstream locations.

Each location is to be sampled 5 times each year:

  • once in the winter
  • once in the spring
  • once in the summer during a period of ‘normal’ stream flow
  • once in the summer during a period of ‘low’ stream flow, and
  • once in the fall.

The County will be working with industries that may be contributing to pollutants in the waste water system to ensure everyone is taking all steps necessary to improve our environment.  For a full story, please click on the link below: For some reason that is a mystery, when you click on the link it takes you to another section and you need to click again.

Lynn_River_SWResults_2011_02212011final

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Water Quality in the Long Point Region A Summary of the 2002-2005 Conditions and Trends

May 7, 2012 — Administrator

The many faces of Silver Lake!

Today we were going through some resource information we have collected and are posting a Summary of Water Quality in the Long Point Region showing conditions and trends. There has been discussion regarding leaving the lake to return to a stream for anglers. The report released by  Grand River Conservation Authority points out that our streams are showing a warming trend over time that will continue to have adverse impact  cold water fish. The dream of a cold water stream is moving quickly into a day dream as nature runs its course.

The warming trend in summer water temperature values across several watersheds (e.g. Big Otter Creek, Big Creek and Lynn River) is of obvious concern to maintaining the current cool and cold water fisheries. If you are interested in reading more about this, we are posting the entire document. If you are not a techie on this subject, you may find the executive summary interesting. It includes a brief summary of the major water quality issues within each of the six watersheds.

Whatever our interest may be, a new posting is always an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Silver Lake, through the wonder of digital photography and enhanced by memories of the past and our wish for the future.

LPRCA Water Quality July07.

Note: When you click on the link above, it will take you to a comment window where you need to click on the link again to access the full report@

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EARNING OUR WAY HOME TO SILVER LAKE HEAVEN

April 25, 2012 — Administrator

Silver Lake Heaven

Thank you Tracybphotography! You have captured “Heaven” in our own little space on earth. Getting to keep it here will cost money. With help from our landmark local businesses, generous residents,  visitors, and corporate sponsors,  we will preserve heaven on Ontario’s south coast for future generations.

THANK YOU ERIE BEACH HOTEL AND THE SCHNEIDER FAMILY

From the Friends Of Silver Lake  (A sub-committee of the Port Dover Waterfront Enhancement Association)

On February 27, 2012  the Erie Beach Hotel sponsored a charity fund raiser for Port Dover Composite School and for the Friends of Silver Lake.

The Friends of Silver Lake  thank Andrew  Schneider and the Erie Beach employees for a wonderful dinner and evening where we  reminisced and shared our stories about Silver Lake over an amazing pickerel buffet dinner! We also thank the Norfolk community members who supported this event. 

Committee members Peter Slamen and Diane Leaker were on hand to receive a cheque for $1775 presented by Doug Long on behalf of the Schneider Family.

It is clear that local businesses recognize the importance of Silver Lake as a key resource for tourism and economic development in Norfolk. 

Together as a community we must save the lake to honour our heritage, for the enjoyment  of our families and friends and as our gift to future generations.

Erie Beach Community Fundraiser

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FRIENDS OF SILVER LAKE GOT THEIR MOTORS RUNNING FRIDAY 13

April 24, 2012 — Administrator

Silver Lake
A magnificent dharma place where sky and lake are one!
Traceybphotography.smugmug.com

We are truly blessed with the wonderful volunteers and supporters of Silver Lake. Thanks to the generosity of  one of our Facebook Friends, an amazing local photographer, we have been given approval to feature her pictures of the Lake in our materials and our website.  Even though we are mourning the lake during its gradual decline, our Facebook friend Ski Alot of Traceybphotography is a true artist who can still find and reproduce the beauty of our Lake that we carry in our souls and memories.  Be sure to visit her website and let her know how much we appreciate her gift!

THANK YOU PORT DOVER!

Friends of Silver Lake got their motors running in anticipation of the April Friday 13 event in Port

FOSL GETS ITS MOTORS RUNNING!

Dover. Thanks to the enthusiastic leadership of local resident, Judy Malpass, 30 volunteers were involved at short notice to launch a “bucket brigade” as a kick-start for fundraising for the Silver Lake restoration project!

This event brought in over $800 dollars. We thank  area residents and our visitors in leathers for their generosity!  While this is only the beginning of a number of fundraising activities planned over the next year, it represents the commitment of our community to do whatever it takes to rescue our Lake. In speaking to Judy about how she managed to pull this off with only 2 weeks lead time, her first response was “THE VOLUNTEERS, we can’t do anything without the volunteers!”

Judy, on behalf of The Friends of Silver Lake Committee would like to say a special thank you to the following people who moved mountains to help her with organizational details: David Knechtel,  Paul Morris , John Rundle , Jan,  Cara, Cathy, Marie, and Linda. Your resources and special talents are greatly appreciated.  We also want to thank the wonderful merchants who welcomed volunteers to stand with buckets on their property. And last but not least, this event  would not have been possible without the volunteers  who provided the manpower to cover three hour shifts.

Judy and the committee have learned a lot from this event and are now welcoming ideas for the upcoming Friday 13 in July. Don’t be shy about putting an idea forward.  We will be dredging the lake one scoop at a time and every  idea large or small will help raise the water level.  

The Friends of Silver Lake Committee have been working diligently in the background to create a strategic and operational plan to get our Lake back. We will be keeping Silver Lake in the news with regular updates on meetings with the Ministry of Natural Resources, our Council and our fundraising activities. A partnership with Norfolk County, the Ministry and our community will be key to our success.

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RESTORE SILVER LAKE – THE TIME HAS COME!

April 4, 2012 — Administrator

Where time and space become one!

WHERE TIME & SPACE BECOME ONE

Now is the time for the community to rally together and show what we can do with a compelling view of our future!

M&N are at this moment reviewing the application from the municipality to repair the dam. While major reinforcement is required, it will not require a complete rebuild – our ancestors from previous generations believed in “building strong”! Those hardy fore bearers have passed the mantle on to our 2012 community. Well to be more specific, to you & I . When there is something important to be done, we need to realize it has to become personal.   Those early pioneers relied on each other, not a bureaucratic  organization to get the job done. This is our legacy and each one of us who has found the lake a place where we have discovered ourselves in its reflective waters or in the eyes of a significant other in the back of canoe under the watchful eyes of a great blue heron, are needed now to carry this legacy on. 

The municipality will fix the dam. The community will dredge the lake. There is a plan to sustain this work so that we only need to raise community dollars to dredge the lake once.

We need to raise a million dollars. We will raise a million dollars. We will be successful. It may take us 5 years but we can dredge the lake in phases. An old riddle “how do you eat an elephant:  Answer: one bite at a time”. It’s time to start taking our bites.

Over the next few weeks we will be making suggestions for how people can help. But we also are asking you also to come forward with your own ideas Stay tuned. In the meantime, please read yesterday’s post with a request for help from Judy Malpass.

I have heard one of our old timers say more than once

“if Dover needs’er, Dover’ll do’er”.

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About Friends of Silver Lake

August 22, 2011 — Administrator

Welcome to our web site.

We look forward to keeping you up to date with all our activities as we work together to restore Silver Lake and its wetlands.

We will add new content and breaking news as it becomes available. We invite you to REGISTER to our website. You will then be automatically notified of new posts and updates. There is no charge to register!

The menu across the top of the page will provide you with the full background information regarding our    organization and our plans. We have BIG plans!  Also join our friends on Face Book.  People are sharing memories of Silver Lake along with pictures.

Help Save (Restore) Silver Lake! | Facebook

Beautiful Silver Lake at Sunset by Marcel Trost

April 3, 2012

ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP!

Subject: Volunteers Needed for April Friday 13 Silver Lake Fundraising

Judy Malpass (519.583.3959, judymalpass@sympatico.ca) is your leader for Community Fund Raising on behalf of restoring Silver Lake.

She presently has a small team of co-workers (Fred Berg, Kathy Berg, Shirley Cawthorne, Michelle Hom, Ray Hunter, Sheila Miller, Ralph Murphy, and Dennis Pascoe).

Judy is intending to collect donations from this April’s Friday 13, with Friends Of Silver Lake volunteers with donation buckets for the day. The Plan is that we would have as many teams as we can muster of  a threesome each with a donation bucket, scattered through the town working one of three shifts (9-12, 12-3, 3-6) this coming April 13. So if we can muster 15 teams for 3 shifts we need 135 volunteers for the day.

 Are you ready to put in 3 hours to Save Silver Lake?

 You’ve said you support restoring Silver Lake. You know we need to raise money to do so. Here’s your chance to step up to the plate and help Judy with some Community Fund Raising.

Judy’s team will supply you with a labelled bucket, volunteer ID and two companions for a three-hour shift of seeking donations from the Friday 13th throng – 85,000 people. We can’t pass up the opportunity. Can you?

If you are ready to help,  please contact Judy by email or phone by this coming Friday 6 so that Judy knows the team she has to work with. Indicate your name, contact info, and what shift preference you have if any.

If you are ready to help, chat this up with your friends who may not be on our mailing list and enlist them to come along too.

 

Regards all

Ron Keating,

A Friend of Silver Lake

 

 

The following resource documents are available by upon request from the site administrator dlsilverlake@gmail.com or by double clicking the links below. The links may take you to a comment view where you need to click the link at the top one more time!

“Never underestimate the power of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world; indeed, that is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Serenity View provided by the Maple Leaf

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