YOUR TAP WATER IS TOAST

It is my opinion that our local and provincial politicians have managed in only a relatively short period of time, to destroy our precious groundwater resources. Here in Elmira we are receiving our tap water courtesy of a pipeline built to replace our groundwater ruined by Uniroyal (Chemtura), Nutrite, Varnicolor and (Borg Textiles?). This pipeline ostensibly brings us water from wells in Waterloo, however with the integrated system that the Region of Waterloo has, it is probable that we are treated with Kitchener water as well.

The reason that the Region and local business and industry are promoting a GREAT LAKES PIPELINE is because they know that they've ruined our local supply and that other sources are desperately needed. Make no mistake, you and I through our taxes will once again be bailing out both bad political decision making as well as polluting industries.

Two out of three wellfields in Waterloo are contaminated by industry, directly or indirectly. The William St. wells courtesy of SunarHauserman and possibly Canbar or Seagrams. The Erb St. wells by the Erb St. Landfill.

In Kitchener it's worse with the Forwell & Pompeii wells down due to Safety-Kleen, the Parkway wells contaminated by Deilcraft, the Greenbrook wells by the Ottawa St. Landfill. The Strange St. wells have huge issues and Uniroyal Tire seems the most likely culprit despite a paucity of public data. The Mannheim wells have lesser issues as does the Grand River due to dilutuion. That being said the Region claim that measureable quantities of Trichloroethylene in the Grand at Cambridge are normal.

More and greater water treatment costs are on the immediate horizon despite politicians begrudging these kinds of costs which aren't "sexy" and don't get them votes. The fallacy in going to Lake Erie (or elsewhere) is these bodies of water are the storehouses for our ongoing industrial stupidity. As long as industry is protected and not exposed by our politicians the less incentive they have to clean up the messes they've already made. As long as our authorities (M.O.E. & Region) accept Mickey Mouse site cleanups versus real cleanups, the less incentive industry has to avoid future groundwater pollution. The more the costs of pollution are passed onto the taxpayers via water treatment due to industrial pollution, the less incentive industry have to dispose of their wastes safely and properly.

The only solution to this bleak future for your children and grandchildren is for you the public to get angry and demand MORE responsibility from your elected representatives. It isn't scientists who do or don't drive a greener future. God help us all, it's politicians.