CHILLIWACK TIMES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013
Letters
Aquifers doing just fine Editor: The City of Chilliwack performs 42 water quality tests each week or 2,184 every year or 10,920 tests over the last five years during which three reservoir results tested positive for E. coli bacteria. I am totally aghast at the immense power the Fraser Health Authority must have to foist chlorination, a lowgrade chemical poisoning, on 80,000 people on such flimsy evidence when our aquifers are doing just fine, thank you. No cases of E. coli infection have been reported during this time, and our water is some of the best to be found anywhere. So, no, I am not worried about E. coli in our tap water, and I will keep on drinking it and enjoying it. However, I am worried about a few other important public health issues that do not seem to merit much attention from our health authorities. I was shocked about news of superbugs in our hospitals until I personally observed cleaning after a patient was discharged. The same cloth was used for wiping the bed, bedside table, windowsill, food tray and sink. What also concerns me are some of the “questionably-processed” foods we are forced to consume: milk containing antibiotics and growth hormones; “pink slime” in ground meat and processed meat products; produce polluted with dozens of carcinogenic herbicides and pesticides and thickly coated with “food grade petroleum products”; and the unlabelled 70 per cent genetically modified food content on the supermarket shelves. I also have concerns about the continuous onslaught of new development on top of our precious Sardis aquifer, the planned twinning of our local pipeline, and the detrimental effects the waste-toenergy plant will have on our already polluted airshed. Sadly, while these important issues remain unaddressed the Fraser Health Authority nevertheless insists on chlorinating our water to keep us safe. And, worst of all, we have no final say in such a far reaching and negative decision. What a shameful predicament for us all. Christine Clarke Sardis
Our air worse than our water Editor: The water in Chilliwack is wonderful to drink. Three isolated cases of concern in five years, does not seem like a compelling reason to force 80,000 people to consume chemicals in
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their water. That would be .0000075 of the population every year affected by E. coli in the water supply. Dr. Lem is in fear of the “poo in the water.” I wonder if he has considered voicing an opinion on the poo in the air, that we experience here in Chilliwack. The brown air affects thousands of people daily, very frequently. There does not seem to be any regulation of that. Possibly he could look at local respiratory statistics. Clean air is also a precious resource. Could there be a connection? Could atmospheric contamination be restricted? Addressing the source of the pollution may be a better solution than adding poison to the water. And is he doing anything about the poisons being added to the atmosphere? Linda Brown Chilliwack
Don’t shoot the messenger Editor: Re: Flood of support for water petition (Times, Feb. 14). The recent discussions regarding warnings by Fraser Health for the need to chlorinate Chilliwack’s water has taken a curious turn. The mayor, council and some public opinion are intent on “shooting the messenger” it seems. Fraser Health Authority (FHA) is a government agency, administered by a government-appointed board whose role is to administer the Public Health Act which includes the Drinking Water Protection Act (laws made by the provincial government) as well as related federal laws. Fraser Health employs health professionals whose role is to protect our health proactively, when possible. The support of several public petitions against chlorination seems to indicate that some of the public wants to make the decision of what is good for our collective health. According to media reports the mayor and council wants serious health problems to be evident before they are
prepared to take the FHA recommendations to chlorinate drinking water. They seem not to understand that the “science” has been done long ago and is the basis for the warning. Purely by coincidence this controversy has appeared a few months before our provincial election and part of the city is represented by the party in power (the one that passed the acts), another part by the official opposition. It is a good time to remind our representatives that they represent us. The MLA of choice’s name and phone number are in the phone book. Rather than shooting the messenger (FHA) I would suggest that the public turn to our provincial politicians who have the power to make changes in Fraser Health and the Public Health Act if change is warranted. Victor Froese Chilliwack
Coun. Lum just grandstanding Editor: If Coun. Jason Lum feels police should have a greater presence in outlying areas such as Yarrow and Rosedale, perhaps he should patrol it himself instead of advocating the transfer of valuable resources to such an ineffective idea. I truly can’t believe that someone responsible for spending our tax revenue can come up with such a proposal. Either Coun. Lum is grandstanding in the media to garner attention to himself or he is completely out of touch with the realities of policing. Let me ask him, how often officers catch would-be property criminals breaking into a house “in the act?” So, Coun. Lum suggests that we should take already stressed police resources and have them waste gas driving needlessly around rural neighbourhoods instead of doing their jobs, like investigating or responding to calls for service. It’s a good thing the RCMP is in charge of See LETTERS, Page 20
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