"Sick" water and our Health

On Wednesday May 19th, at 7 PM, Huguette Allen will give a presentation about the links between "sick" water and our health, at the Kingfisher School. Everyone is welcome.

Allen, who has been active on water issues for many years, may be remembered as spokesperson for SLAMMS (Sugar Lake And Middle Shuswap Stewards) and for the presentation she made to RDNO directors in January 2007 regarding a proposed development at Sugar Lake. Subsequent to that presentation and to the efforts of the group she represented, the development was halted.

She explains, "I decided to put together a new presentation showing the seven major problems affecting our water, and to propose solutions to each one so we can no longer pretend that we can't act. The situation is urgent and needs to be addressed without delay. It is affecting our health, and that of the ecosystems we depend on".

This new presentation will focus on the Shuswap Watershed but will also address Vernon and Coldstream water sources. "There are seven major threats to our water supply, some of which we can address immediately, others that will take some time. But we can no longer afford to ignore them. Although it is not obvious to most people, our lack of water is linked to pollution and is only to going to get worst. Every time we allow the pollution of a water source, we lose that source. Now even our deep lakes are showing the impacts of nutrient overload, with the latest algae bloom hitting Mara lake last week." said Allen.

"We are caught in a vicious and very dangerous circle. Demand for water is increasing while supplies are diminishing. Population is growing and climate change is making the agriculture season longer, both of which increase demand. However both those issues also decrease the availability of water by negatively affecting the quality of the water we have. Development has already made some of our best water sources unavailable. And lower water levels result in higher concentration of the pollutants."