Editor:
I had a few thoughts about Garry Nohr’s defence of the SCRD’s sluggish approach to our water crisis (“SCRD chair defends water strategy,” Nov. 10).
First off, I agree that communication has been poor. The SCRD’s Chapman Lake expansion project web page is rarely updated and when it is, information is lacking in detail and concrete timelines. The impression this creates is that the project has stalled. Also, there’s virtually no information about other options being explored.
Second, as much as the SCRD has accomplished on this file, they need to be doing so much more and at a greatly accelerated pace. According to climate scientists (as reported this week by the CBC), our summers are only going to be getting hotter and drier; in 20 years time, all of our summers will be more extreme than our current record-breakers. We simply can’t dither around another five years before breaking ground on a reservoir or finding other water sources.
Third, given the aggressiveness of local activists, we need to find solutions that aren’t going to engender endless litigation and controversy. For example, it doesn’t take a genius to anticipate major difficulties tapping into another community’s aquifer.
I don’t mean to pick on Director Nohr, as I see him as one of the “good guys” on the water issue. I believe he genuinely wants to find a solution. But what we need from the SCRD is more urgent action, not more excuses.
M.J. Lord, Sandy Hook
