Re: CRD losing ground in sewage debate (Simon Nattrass, July 19)
Nattrass opines that flushing raw sewage, detergents, road runoff, antibiotics and other chemicals into the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a bad idea.
This is the mindset that is driving us down the road to spending billions of unnecessary dollars. The poop-into-ocean-equals-bad attitude is a knee-jerk reaction not based on science.
In our location it is much better for our planet and our local environment to send our nutrients into the ocean, rather than creating a land-based source of sludge that we then have to deal with. Maybe a fish farm would buy it?
As for detergents, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, I agree we should do something about that, but the currently proposed treatment plan won’t do it. I’m not sure the technology exists to do that yet. And road runoff? That is the storm drain system and doesn’t even belong in this discussion.
Please, please, please, can we get a firm scientific backing before we make the decision to spend a bunch of money now, then a bunch more every year to support this wrong-headed plan.
Mr. Nattrass, I challenge you to look more deeply into this issue rather than go along with the knee-jerk reaction and further our journey down a road that will cost us all a lot of money, but will actually hurt the environment.
Ed Christianson
Colwood