The two newest members of the Ausable Bayfield Maitland Valley Drinking Water Source Protection Committee (SPC), are Doug Hocking from Exeter and John Thompson of Goderich.
The SPC makes policies to protect local sources of Municipal drinking water from threats like fuel, chemicals, nutrients, pesticides, and hazardous waste near wells.
Hocking is a Property Owner representative on the committee and Thompson is a municipal representative for the region’s northern municipalities. That includes Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Goderich, Huron-Kinloss, and South Bruce.
SPC Chair Matt Pearson welcomed the two new members to the committee. “Both John and Doug have a great deal of interest in, and knowledge of, drinking water source protection,” he said. “With their strong backgrounds in environmental issues, they will provide great insight and commitment as we continue to implement source protection planning policies.”
John Thompson was elected Councillor for the Town of Goderich in 2022. He has a lifelong interest in ecological concerns. He has a Master’s in Environmental Studies degree from York University in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Applied Psychology from the University of Toronto. He has been a volunteer in his community including working with environmental organizations. He has worked as a journalist and rural economic development researcher. He has also been a library planner and computer consultant.
Doug Hocking has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Honours Program) and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Guelph. He is a long-time resident of Exeter who was raised on a farm in West Perth and who also lived in Listowel. Before retirement, Doug worked in close partnership with local urban and rural landowners for more than 30 years in water quality stewardship at Ausable Bayfield and Maitland Valley conservation authorities. In addition to stewardship work, he also analyzed thousands of surface water and sediment samples from drains, rivers, and Lake Huron.
Written By: K. Close