Editor:
Director Mark Lebell made a reference to the “scarcity of water” in our watershed (“SCRD mulls creation of “watershed entity,” Coast Reporter, March 11). Truthfully, it’s a scarcity of infrastructure. Since it’s obvious that the directors are uninformed when it comes to the amount of fresh water in our region, here are the facts.
Twenty years of studies conclude that, on average, the Sunshine Coast receives 1,514.2 mm or 59.5 inches or 4.9 feet of rain per year. Our geographic location is in the centre of the largest temperate rain forest in the world. We average 160 days of rain per year, with the most rain occurring in December and February. As is entirely normal for a temperate rainforest climate, we receive the lowest amounts of rain in August and September.
My frustration knows no bounds to hear an SCRD director or the general manager of infrastructure, Brian Shoji, continue to refer to water as “scarce.” It is not scarce. The only scarcity is forward thinking when it comes to retaining this abundant natural resource.
With a recent upturn in the real estate market, and a boom in new residential building, taxpayers can be sure that the existing infrastructure, which barely serves us now, will only become more problematic in the future. Vague and undated information on the SCRD website pursuant to water retention plans is reflective of the vague and uninformed leadership at the SCRD when it comes to water. We cannot continue to ignore how the SCRD presents this issue. Water meters will not change usage until the price for water is raised to a punitive level. We have absolutely no reason to meter water. The water is here. Available. Abundant. A scarcity of water? A ridiculous idea at best and deliberately misleading at worst.
Kathy Para, Gibsons
