ERCA Approves Top Priorities for 2007

Source Water Protection Planning, planting and distributing more than 200,000 trees, implementing more than 100 water quality improvement projects, developing an action plan for the sustainable management of Southeast Leamington and developing 2 new conservation areas are just a few of the top priorities outlined by the Essex Region Conservation Authority for 2007.

"Undertaking the technical work and collaborating with the community on a local, watershed based approach to protecting our sources of drinking water will be a key focus for the next few years," stated Ray Renaud, ERCA Chair.

Other top programs and projects include protecting some of the region's most significant natural areas, and targeting 200 acres for habitat restoration projects. ERCA will continue to work with landowners to provide technical and financial incentives to share in the responsibility of a cleaner and healthier environment. The budget for 2007 is $13.5 million. The total municipal levy is about $2.3 million dollars, representing an increase of only 2.7%, or $61,600 from 2006.

"This means that for a home valued at $200,000, approximately $12.97 goes toward environmental improvements," explained Ken Schmidt, ERCA General Manager. "Because of assessment changes, this actually represents a per household reduction of about 35 cents from last year on a home at that value, as an example."

"More and more, people are recognizing that a healthy environment, healthy economy and healthy population are intricately linked. You cannot have one healthy element of society without the other two," Chair Renaud concluded.