Dear Editor:
Re: We are simply gluttons for fresh water, Our View, Burnaby NOW, May 24.
I would like to present my view. I have noted that over the years our consumption of fresh water per capita has steadily decreased. The overall consumption may well have marginally increased, but that was purely due to our larger population increase.
In my view, the fault lies in inadequate planning in managing our storage capacity of fresh water. We squander our water resources by dumping most of it directly into the ocean. For water that flows into the Capilano Lake reservoir, 70 per cent is dumped into the ocean due the inadequate storage capacity. Similarly for Seymour and Coquitlam reservoirs. There has been no increase in the height/capacity of our dams for decades. The fault lies not with the public – but with our planners and politicians who have idly let this happen.
How can some desert areas in the world – for example the French, which built a large desalination plant for Israel – supply sufficient water for their needs and at a price per unit volume that competes with ours, while we, living in a rainforest, cannot?
It defies belief! Stop this social engineering and plan properly for our future generations.
Corrie Kost, by email
