Editor:
Re: “Food before green lawns” (Letters, Feb. 5).
Last year the SCRD did not poorly manage our water. In fact, they did an excellent job of managing a much lesser supply than usual. They monitored levels daily and were timely in imposing the appropriate restrictions when they became necessary. Those restrictions and the perceived water shortage had little to do with cultivating lawns early in the spring.
Furthermore, we did not “almost run out of water as a result.” There was far more available in the reservoir, but our outfall (think of it as a pouring spout) is comparatively shallow. We rely solely upon rainfall year round to keep the water level above the outfall. How we should go about increasing storage capacity, or accessing the water we are able to store, is a topic for a whole different discussion.
It is ludicrous to suggest that in the spring during Stage 1 restrictions, when millions of litres a day are overflowing the reservoir and spilling unused into the ocean, that further restricting water use will do anything to increase supply later in the season. In fact, spring is the very best time to make use of it.
We have a unique system where we enjoy an overabundance of water for roughly nine months of the year. Please, let’s not pontificate about who is more entitled to use our water, or what use has more merit. We should instead rejoice in the fact that water is in abundance during the spring months. We should use it smartly to grow our veggies, wash our possessions and yes, even grow healthy, more drought-tolerant lawns if we wish. In the months that it doesn’t rain, until we have a better system, ALL of us should have to make concessions. If we all play fair and by the rules, we’ll have dirty cars, brown lawns and, heaven forbid, might even have to eat a store-bought vegetable.
Glenn Porter, Halfmoon Bay
