Jim Bodkin's Compelling Letter

Better late than never to reprint this February 8th, 2015 Letter to the Editor of the Morning Star; it's important to record it.  Many, many residents in Greater Vernon share Jim's opinion.


"Water woes leave resident steaming"

I believe the resounding defeat of the master water plan referendum shows that you cannot fool all the people all the time and underscores the need for politicians to take off their rose-coloured glasses.

The provision of an adequate amount of safe drinking water is absolutely essential and elected officials need to hold those senior members of the water utility who have just been showing part of the overall water picture to the public to account.

It is ridiculous how much emphasis has been put on getting drinking water from Duteau Creek whilst largely ignoring the fact that the vast majority of people in Coldstream and Vernon get their water from the Mission Hill waterworks that draws its water from Kal Lake.  Doing so distorts the water reality.

I suspect a lot of people currently getting their drinking water from Duteau Creek could be switched at reasonable expense to the Mission Creek water that comes from Kal Lake.  Problem is, from the perspective of those with vested interests, that would really show what a white elephant Duteau Creek is as a source of drinking water.

"...amazes me ... that our elected officials ever approved spending so much to make water from a nonsuitable source drinkable in the first place." 

Initially, we were told that we needed to spend millions on the Duteau Creek waterworks because the province would not give us enough water rights to take water from Kal or Okanagan Lakes to meet our needs.  That drum is no longer being beaten with much enthusiasm perhaps because it's(sic) credibility has been undermined by the fact that other communities bordering the lakes have water licences permitting them to draw what they need from the lakes.  It's hard to believe that the province would deny Vernon what it has granted to Kelowna, that is unless we fail to make a good case that we need the water licences.  The horrendous cost of turning Duteau Creek water into something drinkable makes a darn good case, does it not?

Another thing the senior people at the water utility have told us is that Interior Health has ordered us to filter our drinking water.  Quite frankly, that's pretty hard to swallow.  I think it far more likely that Interior Health has said that our drinking water needs to meet certain standards and left it up to our water gurus to figure out how to meet those standards.  I'm thinking too that Interior Health has few if any concerns about the bulk of our drinking water that comes from Kal Lake.  Duteau Creek water is another matter entirely.  Despite the millions of taxpayer dollars poured into making it drinkable, Duteau Creek water, especially at the time of spring runoff, has too many suspended particules that diminish the efficacy of chlorination or ultraviolet treatments.

"...fudging terms of reference can hamstring outside experts into being unable to recommend what they otherwise would do if not so fettered."

I'm no expert but I am a firm believer that you do not have to be a chef in order to criticize the cooking.  What amazes me is that our elected officials ever approved spending so much to make water from a nonsuitable source drinkable in the first place.

"Give the raspberry to any so-called experts who expound taking water from a source that is so initially unsuitable for making it drinkable that it will never be affordable."

Now, our elected officials need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a more economical plan.  They also need to do so with their eyes wide open.  It is common knowledge that fudging terms of reference can hamstring outside experts into being unable to recommend what they otherwise would do if not so fettered.

Over to you, our newly elected officials.  We need you to sort this out for us.  An adequate source of drinking water is a fundamental need, having it done at affordable cost is a fundamental need too.  Kindly roll up your sleeves and get on with the job.  Give the raspberry to any so-called experts who expound taking water from a source that is so initially unsuitable for making it drinkable that it will never be affordable.

It upsets me that letter(sic) such as this needed to be written.  For goodness sake you elected officials, do you not realize that your constituents rely on you to determine how many beans make five on a provision of a need so fundamental as enough safe drinking water?  Shame on your predecessors, shame too on those of you who held elected office whilst some of the profligate water decisions were made over the past several administrations."
                         Jim Bodkin


"Anybody still believe that the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee that 'oversees' GVW is in charge? Or is it the other way around?" muses Kia.

Especially since the only new member of the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee is Akbal Mund, Vernon's new mayor. 

As Jim Bodkin says, shame on you.

And whoever heard of WN news?
Seems GVW's turbidity report/switch to Duteau made that news:  http://article.wn.com/view/2015/02/21/Notice_to_Greater_Vernon_Water_Customers_Water_Remains_on_th/ 

Huh?  
The WorldNews (WN) Network, founded in 1995 & launched online in 1998. Now it has over 200 million pages indexed covering news on a vast range of subjects.
WN is completely free and offers a broad range of media content from a varied and extensive range of sources. A global leader in online news, WN Network presents news from more than 800 reputable sources including mainstream providers BBC, CNN, Reuters, Washington Post, etc to more regional and localized sources The Independent, The New York Times, delivering unparalleled coverage on a vast range of subjects.

"Obviously Kal Lake turbidity was 'submitted' to get top billing on WN news,"  mumbles Kia.
Sheesh!
Sheesh also to some of the public "uses" up at the Duteau sources.
 

OBWB photo.  Lots of things occur up in the "drinking water swamps."

 

 

Jim Bodkin Letter to the Editor re NORD

Excerpt from The Morning Star, February 2, 2011.

Excellent stuff, worth repeating everywhere!

"The Morning Star front page headline, 'Water rates could soar'  is nothing more than wishful thinking on the part of our local elected officials.  Greater Vernon has some of the highest wter rates in the Okanagan and it is inevitable that these rates will soar well beyond inflation.  Let us all hope that sufficient domestic water is available for purchase regardless of the price.

Two recent decisions by our water officials have decreased substantially the amount of water available for domestic consumption:  1)  the intake on Kale Lake closest to Coldstream Creek has been deemed most suitable for agricultural use and will no longer be used for domestic water, and 2) the 3,000 domestic customers previously supplied from wells have been switched to Duteau water and the well water set aside for agricultural use only.  The rationale given is that it has become too costly to treat water from these two sources to the standard required for domestic usage.

Some of our councillors point the finger at Interior Health but then say not to worry.  They say only 1.2 per cent of our total water comes from wells.  That is true but very misleading because the bulk of our wter is used for agriculture.  Calculating the percentage more appropriately would show that those 3,000 switched well-wtaer customers accounted for a much greater percentage of domestic water usage.

The mega dollars spent on the Duteau Creek treatment plant did not add one drop of extra water to our supply; all the money spent went to making the water coming from the Aberdeen Plateau sources more palatable and less subject to boil water advisories.  The problem is we do not have enough water to satisfy both domestic and agricultural demand except in average or better years of winter snowpack followed by average or better years of summer rainfall.

Our local councillors' growth at any cost mentality is to blame for letting our population growth outstrip our water supply.  We live in an arid climate and approving housing development after housing development has brought us to the point where water restrictions are in place year-round and additional restrictions are necessary in drier than average years.  Only by spending a lot more money to raise dams or drill more wells can we provide water to the 8,000 ready to build home lots already approved by present and past councillors.

The impacts of scarce and expensive water are with us now and the more our population grows the greater the impact will be.  Brown lawns are no big deal; grass has evolved to cope with summer drought and can survive.  The same cannot be said for our urban forest canopy.  Drought stress is becoming more noticeable in residential trees that are no longer being irrigated; it will take them a while to die from drought but disease and insect attack as they weaken will extract an earlier toll.  Some, of course, will cheer the demise of non-native trees but I will mourn their loss of beauty, shade and birdsong.

We taxpayers have and are changing our behaviour to conserve water but we need our politicians to help too by keeping some incentive in the system.  We use less water but then the water purification plant officials decide to raise rates to cover higher per-unit operating costs.  That creates a self-perpetuating no-win situation our politicians need to address.  A good starting point is to look at how officials have loaded long-term water costs onto the front end so we present-day users are being unfairly overbilled today rather than these costs being amortized over the life of the asset.  Fairness means pricing water at the cost of treatment and delivery.  Overcharging for a public good to build up reserves for future use is not how democracy is supposed to work...we all should pay as we go, not a penny more; not a penny less.  For those who have forgotten, we call it responsible government.

Another issue needing councillor action is stopping hobby farmers and country estate owners from using cheaper agricultural water.  Most people agree real farmers earning all or much of their livelihood from growing food deserve lower agricultural rates but hardly anyone agrees that such rates are deserved by fake farmers who are simply taking advantage of a cheap water loophole.

Well-paid officials and councillors collecting stipends from multiple sources need to recognize that many taxpayers are struggling to keep their head above water on fixed pensions, shortened hours and low-paying jobs.  It seems to me that for meaningful change some new "bums" are needed come November elections to replace those overly comfortable in the well-upholstered pews around our council chambers."

Jim Bodkin.

"Why can't our elected officials lower our water costs by charging newcomers with the more equitable and time-tested 'latecomer fees'?" asks Kia.  


After all, we built and paid for the system.
New users should, in effect, reimburse us.

Good question, Kia.
Good letter, Jim. 
Good luck, officials