Armchair alarmist or reasonable voice I'm sure I know which category you think I fall into, but I think it was good of you to admit that the establishment of the day including your paper were of the camp that was promoting Stave lake P3 water and using every bit of propaganda available to brainwash the public with a Vote Yes campaign not seen since Plan A and that you were wrong to do that.
Our little team of riffraff managed to garner 80% of the public's support in the referendum with considerably less tools and financing available than the City and the Chamber.
The Stave lake P3 water plan which was estimated to cost 292 million dollars was only half the story because a similar amount (not so vigorously advertised) of 282 million dollars was estimated to upgrade the sewage system if that volume of water was brought in. If you rounded out and took off Ed Fasts' paper bag full of money, it would have raised Abbotsford's tax rates by at least 35-50 % and likely twice that considering the propensity for overruns, unknowns and what Plan A had cost.
Furthermore, the only Global warming deniers (which you claim to fear) you are likely to find, are the church-backed members of the Council and the Chamber and you don't really have to be afraid of them because they will always go whichever way they're told by their sponsors. There was very little resistance to Stave Lake P3 from any member of that council of the day.
Facts are Stave lake was being proposed and shoved through by the Genstar development people and a large water bottling company rumoured at the time to be Violia but more likely Nestle, who would laugh all the way to the bank that the stupid dupes built them a 292 million dollar facility and all they have to do is turn the tap and rake in the money. (much like Global spectrum and the Heat who were costly to remove and just proved to be what we had warned)
It was interesting to talk to Ed Regt's replacement who appears to have moved on now, he was the guy leading the charge for the city's engineering department and upon the gigantic loss of the referendum the first thing he did was order up Study #7 and I am surprised to hear the new head of engineering has commissioned yet a further $200.000 for another "study" as this problem has been studied to death for more than a decade. (can we use any of these older studies we have spent hundreds of thousands on?)
Personally I believe the long-term answer is reservoir capacity and the Fraser river, as Henry Braun seemed to understand, the problem is the Inability to fill the reservoirs in the driest months, and not a general lack of water here in this part of the world. When the gravel mines on the north side of Sumas mountain have dug away enough of the mountainside a good engineer should be able to design a water supply reservoir and filtration system and tie it into the main waterline which is in that area. (can I get a check for $200,000?)
Finally, for you to suggest a referendum is not necessary for such an expenditure is going against municipal law and furthermore It would be nice if your opinions didn't mirror that of the Smoggies that run this town, the economy works through industry and ingenuity is not determinate on population as you can realize if you stop spouting platitudes you have obviously memorized. Tearing out all the trees on the mountain and planting condominiums and row houses is increasing the population but doing very little good for the overall economy, it's devastating to the rural environment and God forbid there is a Fort Mac situation in the newly fire prone area of Auguston, and I certainly could go on about it but I digress...
Anne Graham