Welcome Residents of Belfountain.ca

Since 2020, the Coalition for the West Credit River has worked to protect one of the few remaining native Brook Trout populations in southern Ontario from the proposed Erin Wastewater Treatment Facility. At full build-out, the facility will release 7,172,200 litres of sewage-effluent per day into the West Credit River.

We are currently addressing a request by the Town of Erin to the Ministry of the Environment (MECP) to begin operation of the wastewater treatment plant, despite delays in installing the required effluent cooling system. Operating the facility without a cooling system poses a risk of elevating river temperatures to levels that could be lethal to Brook Trout.

Brook Trout are a sensitive coldwater species that are intolerant of stream temperatures greater than 19°C for any sustained period, and yet the Environmental Study Report failed to include any provision for an effluent temperature limit or an effluent cooling system.

The Coalition’s achievements over the last 5 years:

• Built strong working relationships with the MECP, Town of Erin, Credit Valley Conservation and the Region of Peel.
• Done the field-work to collect five years of sewage effluent temperature data (June-October) from local wastewater treatment facilities to demonstrate potential impacts on stream temperature.
• Used this evidence, together with sustained advocacy, to secure key protections in the facility’s Environmental Compliance Approval, including:
  • Final effluent must be maintained at or below 19°C on a 4-day moving average.
  • An Effluent Cooling System must be built into the design.
  • Quarterly summaries of all operating issues and corrective actions must be posted to the Town of Erin’s website.
  • Real-time water quality and effluent temperature data must also be posted to the Town’s website for public access.

The West Credit River is a tributary of the Credit River. The West Credit headwaters originate in Wellington County’s Town of Erin then flow through the Niagara Escarpment UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve into Caledon’s Forks of the Credit in Peel Region.

 To learn more https://cwcr.ca/

Contact Coalition for the West Credit River info@cwcr.ca

Save the date.   Saturday December 13th, the Belfountain Community Organization will be hosting their Annual General Meeting followed by the Christmas Potluck Party.

This will be hosted in the Belfountain Community Hall.  Everyone is welcome.

Full details are forthcoming.  Stay tuned.   

Dear Belfountain Community,

What an incredible milestone — 200 years of Belfountain! The Belfountain Community Organization would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to everyone who helped make this historic celebration such a success. A special thank-you goes to Sarah Bohan, the Belfountain Historical Society, the volunteers, the Regional and Municipal governments, and all the people involved who made it happen for their dedication and tireless efforts in bringing our rich history to life for this memorable occasion. Amazing that our Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote our community a letter recognizing our community milestone

We also celebrate Wendy’s beautiful creation of the new statue in the heart of the hamlet — a lasting tribute to Belfountain’s spirit and story. The hours of creativity, craftsmanship, and community collaboration that brought this artwork to life truly embody what makes our village so special.

 Finally, our sincere thanks to David Spencer for capturing the joy of the day through his photography and generously sharing his images with the community. You can view photos from the celebration here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WxwwBn8QfGZpubMu6.

 Here’s to 200 years of community, creativity, and connection — and to many more ahead!

Warm regards,
The Belfountain Community Organization

Thank you to those people who took the time to protest the bird cannons at Belfountain Estates on Saturday September 27th. 

Attendance was fantastic with 18 people showing their discontent. We received emails from other people in the community indicating they had a conflict otherwise they would have attended too.  

The recording that backs these photographs was recorded in the hamlet off of Bush Street.  The cannons are very directional.  The volume depends on where you are in relation to elevation with the blast cannons and which direction they are pointed.  In the valley is the worst – those living on River Road.  You can also hear the echo all the way down the West Credit valley and back.   Many noticed how loud they were the morning after the protest as example.   Complaints have been received from Cataract, South of the Grange Sideroad, and the ski club areas.    

The blasts from the two cannons (three blasts each) continue all day every day every 4-5 minutes.   The landowner has indicated he will follow his interpretation of the ‘regulations”, and the blasts will continue 1/2 hour after sunrise to ½ hour before sunset until they harvest.  Last year the entire crop was lost even though the blasting cannons were used.    Wonder what will happen this year?

SAVE THE DATE!  

BELFOUNTAIN IS HAVING A 200th ANNIVERSARY PARTY

AND YOU’RE INVITED!

EVENT DETAILS
As many will know by now, the planning for the Belfountain Bi-Centennial celebration is well underway. Your community members have been hard at work organizing a parade and street party for our community’s once-in-a-lifetime event, Saturday, October 4, from 11:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ROAD CLOSURE
Roads in and out of Belfountain will be closed Saturday, October 4th, 10:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. for the festivities.

ROADS AFFECTED

The roads affected will be: 

• Bush Street and River Road closed from Shaw’s Creek Road to Old Main Street
• Mississauga Road (south) closed from Woodland Court to Old Main Street
• Forks of the Credit Road from River Road to Mississauga Road (north)
• Caledon Mountain Estates roads will be closed
• Staging for the 200th Anniversary Parade is on 
  Woodland Court at Mississauga Road

Barricades will be operated by O.P.P Caledon Detachment.  See maps below

Residents will be able to leave if necessary but please notify us in advance if a vehicle needs to leave your property so that our volunteers can escort your vehicle out of the closed road area. Re-entry by shuttle only until after 6pm

PARKING

Free parking is available at the Caledon Ski Club West Lodge Ski Club and Belfountain Public School with shuttle buses available from the ski club to Belfountain, Forester’s Park and BPS, and back throughout the day.

FLOATS, VENDORS AND VOLUNTEERS!

Parade – promote your business, club or collaborate with friends and neighbours to create a float or march together to join the parade! Drive your Vintage car! 

Parade Awards! Win ‘Best Dressed’, ‘Best Parade Display’, ‘Funniest Float’, ‘Peoples Choice’, and more!  

Parade Features

• Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band,
• 2nd York Militia & Canadian Volunteers of 1812 re-enactment co.,
• horses,
• vintage cars,
• Erin Air Cadets, and more!

Vendors 

Be part of the Vendors’ Market! Email us to book your vendor space!

Volunteers – Be part of this epic street party!

ATTENTION STUDENTS! We give COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS!  

ALL VOLUNTEERS receive a free commemorative T-shirt*, lunch and snacks. 

RSVP your participation by sign-up forms available on our socials  @Belfountain200 

OR email to Belfountain Heritage Society: belfountainheritage@gmail.com

*Kindly RSVP your t-shirt size so that we can order the correct # of Volunteer t-shirts. 

JUST A FEW OF THE FAMILY FUN ACTIVITIES

Rain or shine, events of the day will include a parade, with horses, vintage cars, Erin Air Cadets, Sandhill Pipes & Drums Band, Blue Bonnet Lassies Highland Dancers, the unveiling of the new Belfountain Commemorative Sculpture and history plaque, live music, scavenger hunt, quadball games, heritage art show and displays in the Community Hall, vendors, the 2nd York Militia with the Canadian Volunteers will re-enact battles of the 1812 War in Forester’s Park, along with much more!

Make history! Invite your family and friends to come join the fun and be part of Belfountain’s 1-day milestone event organized by your community for the community! 

Questions?  Please contact  Sarah, Evan or Steve at belfountainheritage@gmail.com

The BCO has received a second response from the landowner of Belfountain Estates about the bird cannons.  You can read it HERE.

We continue to take actions to encourage a silent alternative to the bird cannons based on the recent community survey.    Some of the more complicated actions will take time and will be made in effort to help our community and landowner resolve this issue prior to next year’s season.  

This week, our local councilor Lynn Kiernan recommended that we organize a protest on public lands in front of Belfountain Estates to show the landowner that the bird cannons are having a negative impact on our community.    This can show the landowner that just because he says he can use cannons,  doesn’t mean it is it the right thing to do.

If you are interested, we propose Saturday September 27^th between noon and 2 pm.  To support the community, the BCO will provide materials to create your sign therefore we need to know how many participants there will be.  Please email secretary@belfountain.ca to confirm attendance.    

It is extremely important that no one trespasses on the Belfountain Estates property.   The side of the road near 17529 Shaws Creek Road on the gravel shoulder and on any public land across the road does not result in trespassing. Trespassing or causing property damage is not going to help the community’s issue with the landowner. Please take appropriate personal precautions as Shaws Creek Road will have traffic where drivers may not have clear visibility as they drive up the hill.

Thank you,

The Belfountain Community Organization

As you know, we had sent a letter to Belfountain Estates on behalf of our community regarding the use of bird cannons based on your survey feedback.

We have received a response which you can read HERE.

It is clear from this response, that the individual is standing firm regarding continued use of bird cannons and is not taking the community concerns into consideration or looking into noise-free alternatives.

The Belfountain Community Organization is considering next steps in line with your survey responses.  We will have a decision made at our next board meeting on September 17 and communicate this with you.    While we work collectively on your behalf, please do not hesitate to email your concerns directly to Belfountain Estates – Sean Cunningham pigz1@me.com.  CC your email to our Town of Caledon councilors Christina Early christina.early@caledon.ca, Lynn Kiernan lynn.kiernan@caledon.ca and the BCO at secretary@belfountain.ca

Thank you

The Belfountain Community Organization