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Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A R Y 2 8 , 2 0 1 3
Dr. Paul Van Buynder, Fraser Health’s Chief Medical Health officer, faces a tough audience during an information meeting in Chilliwack Tuesday. GREG KNILL/ JENNIFER FEINBERG PHOTOS
Hostile crowd greets FHA over chlorination Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
2011 and 2012, were isolated and cerns of chlorination, mentioned by confined to hillside reservoirs, numerous speakers, because he said which operate separately from the the by-products that lead to health main water distribution system. issues aren’t present in the water But even with water testing done system due to a lack of organic twice as often as required, residents could still “be drinking it for four days,” before something gets detected at the lab, if some form of bacteria should contaminate the water. Just as the topic of water chlo“You’ve got high-quality water in rination is reaching a fever pitch the groundwater source, and high in Chilliwack, a positive E.coli test quality city staff, but you can’t have result came through Wednesday for a foolproof system,” without using a the area of Greendale. secondary disinfectant like chlorine, City of Chilliwack has issued a he said. Water Quality Advisory for residents He’s most worried about a nasty in Greendale on the heels of a “count strain of E.coli, like the one that hit one” result, which is the lowest Walkerton, Ont. The steps taken in detectable level on the scale. theAttachments wake of that disaster changed “The City has activated its standby the outlook on drinking water pro- chlorination system and is flushing Attachment – Examples of eligible banners on online web pages tection for theA entire world. the pipes in the area,” said Mayor He dismissed the health con- Sharon Gaetz.
$1.25
45930 Airport Road 604-795-9104
2-13H M28
matter in the water from the underground aquifer. Ozone, filtration and UV methods don’t work either for adequately Continued: WATER/ p14
Greendale under water advisory
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They pleaded. They heckled. They tried to negotiate. They yelled at, and even booed the official who hosted Fraser Health’s information meeting Tuesday night on the prospect of continuous chlorination of Chilliwack’s pristine water. A crowd of more than 400 filled the Chilliwack Alliance Church to ask questions, and hear what FHA’s Chief Medical Health officer Dr. Paul Van Buynder had to say. Despite two and half hours of heated exchange, with all speakers saying that they don’t want chlorination, there was no evident shift in the official position that chlorination is the best option for Chilliwack. Dr. Van Buynder acknowledged that the quality of Chilliwack’s
award-winning drinking water, and the efforts by staff to maintain the 450 kilometres of the water distribution system serving a growing population of more than 80,000. “You have a really good water source, there’s just no guarantee you can protect the system against incursions,” he said. Dr. Van Buynder’s bottom line was that the risk to Chilliwack population of drinking untreated water superseded any risks of adding the secondary disinfectant, chlorine. With a system the size and complexity of Chilliwack, there could be an estimated 70 to 100 breaks, or “incursions” in the water system in a given year, caused by anything from illegal connections to a break in a pipe. Chilliwack’s three incidents of “minimal” E.coli detection, in 2009,
The chlorine will take about 12 hours to reach the western most edge of Chilliwack. “Once the chlorine is present, residents are advised to run the water in their pipes to flush the chlorinated water through the system.” City and Fraser Health officials are resampling to confirm results, which should be in by Thursday, February 28. A Boil Water Advisory is going out, but if the tests come back clear it will be rescinded immediately, said officials.