Editor:
I was happy to see several letters last week regarding our Stage 4 water restrictions. All made good points, especially Al Jenkins’ letter (“Solve this problem”), which smartly summarized the basics of the problem and offered a potential solution that the SCRD needs to seriously investigate. I hope every Coast resident will read his letter and become more engaged in this crucial issue.
As we head into the rainy season, I fear that our community will, once again, collectively fall asleep at the wheel about our water storage and infrastructure problems. This has been the pattern for as long as I’ve observed; feathers get ruffled when we go to Stage 4 restrictions, but other than that, there seems to be very little awareness/concern beforehand or any meaningful follow-up after the fact.
I’d like to remind readers that we ended up at Stage 4 again this year despite a very good snow pack and high lake levels well into early summer. I shudder to think where we’d be right now if we started out the season with a low snow pack and depleted water levels, as we’ve had in previous years.
The hard reality is that, every year, our water levels are at their lowest when demand – partly due to tourism and large numbers of seasonal residents – is at its highest. This is never going to change. Residents can only cut back so much, and many have already reached their limit. Simply put, we are well past the point of being able to conserve our way out of this problem. The SCRD needs to take immediate action to address the supply-side of our ongoing water crisis, not just keep shaming and blaming residents for their usage, and we need to hold them accountable.
M.J. Lord, Sandy Hook
