Editor:
A letter to Gibsons Mayor Bill Beamish:
I am sorry to have missed the town council meeting of April 16 when you made the proclamation that May would be Gibsons Water Month.
I would have liked to speak to this proclamation, as I did not see the word aquifer mentioned in the text.
Am I missing something here? One of the reasons we in Gibsons feel so proud of our water is because we can drink uncontaminated, pure and untreated aquifer water.
Should not this be the main thrust of the proclamation?
My other question is that if we truly hold our water in such high regard, then why are we risking it? May I remind you that I asked the previous mayor and council and staff the same question before the final building permit was granted for the George? Since we apparently value our water – which means aquifer – then why are we not making the developer post a bond to protect our town in case of leeching contaminants or a puncture of the aquitard? Is this what you call good stewardship?
I really feel this proclamation is not worth the paper it is written on because if we truly valued water we would not be building a huge 120-foot hotel right on top of our aquifer.
I hope you understand why this whole idea of a water proclamation in my opinion is just plain hypocritical because the town’s actions speak louder than its words.
Judith Bonkoff, Gibsons
