In the Nov. 11 issue of The News, Laurie Hoekstra states in her letter that “The Walkerton disaster is an example of private control gone very, very wrong.”
This is a misleading statement that needs to be clarified.
The Walkerton tragedy occurred when the water system was operated by the public utility commission.
Public operators “engaged in a host of improper operating practices, including failing to use adequate doses of chlorine, failing to monitor chlorine residuals daily, making false entries about residuals in daily operating records, and misstating the locations at which microbio logical samples were taken.” (Taken from the Walkerton Inquiry, available at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/walkerton/part1/WI_Summary.pdf ).
The municipality has since entered into an operating agreement with a private operator, Veolia.
Although Walkerton’s (now Municipality of Brockton) water system is now privately operated, the municipality retains 100 per cent ownership and control of the water resources and systems.
This is the same partnering structure proposed for the Stave Lake water supply.
Please visit our website www.stavelakeproject.ca to get the facts on the Stave Lake Water Project.
Tracy Kyle, P.Eng.
Director,
Stave Lake Water Supply Project