I wonder if anyone remembers the Master Water Plan that was going to solve our water related problems both in terms of quality and quantity. Developed by the “...best water engineering minds in Canada...” (former Mayor Sean Harvey) it was going to provide bottle quality water for everybody, including humans, animals and even agricultural crops.
We were driven into a frenzy and started paying a premium for it as early as 2002. All of the politicians and all their hired hands spoke glowingly of the time this new era would come. We even had taste tests of water treated by various treatment alternatives on Middleton Mountain.
So where is the beef? It is now 2008, in fact it’s now more than half over and we got nothing. Only seven of the 16 politicians who supported the plan are still around. The only high ranking staff member still on the job is Mr Al Cotsworth and his major job function appears to be serving notice of where and when we have a new boil water advisory.
The City did get their improvement with the ultraviolet irradiation system and they did get their extended services into new developments. In fact, they spent abut $15 million of the funds on City projects and virtually none on the rest of us got any of those funds(according to the latest and outdated project information on the GVW website).
Some of the initial staff are still around but in a different job. Mr Leon Gous is now the City Chief Administrative Officer. He was the one advising City Council to pull out of the bulk water part of GVW. Mr Michael Stamhuise is now the Director of Engineering for Coldstream. and advises on how to spend sewer users money on projects that have no benefit at all to them. Financial Officer Harris is gone from NORD. Information is hard to get and it would be important to know what’s happening our money that we pay for substandard (that’s what they implied about our water system!) water.
Meanwhile time is rushing on as are the cost of just about everything. Fuel costs are out of this world and consequently consumer products are also rising in price. What does it have to do with water? Well, we still need to have a treatment plant built at Duteau Creek else how do we provide improved quality water to our crops (they get most of it) and, incidentally, to people living outside of the City? Those cost estimates in the distant past will definitely be out the window.
Would it not be nice to have our politicians, like Chair Corner occasionally inform us of the progress (or lack of such) of the MWP? I guess they are much too preoccupied by their internal wrangling to pay any attention to us. After all we are only here to pay the bills!
We were driven into a frenzy and started paying a premium for it as early as 2002. All of the politicians and all their hired hands spoke glowingly of the time this new era would come. We even had taste tests of water treated by various treatment alternatives on Middleton Mountain.
So where is the beef? It is now 2008, in fact it’s now more than half over and we got nothing. Only seven of the 16 politicians who supported the plan are still around. The only high ranking staff member still on the job is Mr Al Cotsworth and his major job function appears to be serving notice of where and when we have a new boil water advisory.
The City did get their improvement with the ultraviolet irradiation system and they did get their extended services into new developments. In fact, they spent abut $15 million of the funds on City projects and virtually none on the rest of us got any of those funds(according to the latest and outdated project information on the GVW website).
Some of the initial staff are still around but in a different job. Mr Leon Gous is now the City Chief Administrative Officer. He was the one advising City Council to pull out of the bulk water part of GVW. Mr Michael Stamhuise is now the Director of Engineering for Coldstream. and advises on how to spend sewer users money on projects that have no benefit at all to them. Financial Officer Harris is gone from NORD. Information is hard to get and it would be important to know what’s happening our money that we pay for substandard (that’s what they implied about our water system!) water.
Meanwhile time is rushing on as are the cost of just about everything. Fuel costs are out of this world and consequently consumer products are also rising in price. What does it have to do with water? Well, we still need to have a treatment plant built at Duteau Creek else how do we provide improved quality water to our crops (they get most of it) and, incidentally, to people living outside of the City? Those cost estimates in the distant past will definitely be out the window.
Would it not be nice to have our politicians, like Chair Corner occasionally inform us of the progress (or lack of such) of the MWP? I guess they are much too preoccupied by their internal wrangling to pay any attention to us. After all we are only here to pay the bills!
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1 comment:
Hello,
Re: "inform us of the progress (or lack of such) of the MWP"
Earlier this year, an update of the Master Water Plan was sent to all addresses in Greater Vernon. This provided an update. The most important fact is we are waiting for the over $13 Million grant from the federal and provincial government for the Duteau Water Treatment Plant. The ground can not be proken for this work until the project clears the federal environmental assessment and the grant receives final approval. I think it would be wise not to break ground until this is done.
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