Editor:
Politicians run out of hot air. Sound ridiculous? No more ridiculous than “Sechelt runs out of tap water.”
At the special Sechelt council meeting I heard SCRD officials blame water rationing on “the drought.” The definition of drought is “a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water.” Our annual rainfall has actually been increasing since 2012. In three of these years we have suffered under water rationing. We are running out of water during a deluge, not a drought.
Mayor Milne points the finger at the SCRD despite the fact our $25-million “state of the art” treatment plant does not return tertiary treatment water to the water supply system. The SCRD blames failure to enlarge the Chapman Lake reservoir on the provincial government needing to give permission. Mayor Milne said there is “a snowflake’s chance in hell” that an NDP/Green coalition will pass the required legislation to change Tetrahedron Park boundaries.
Providing drinking water is not rocket science. The Romans figured it out 2,000 years ago. The SCRD’s failure to duplicate their success is not due to rampant development (one per cent population growth per year) or drought. It is due to long-term incompetence on the part of the SCRD and District of Sechelt.
Less hot air, more water, please.
Bruce Woodburn, Sandy Hood
