ONCE AGAIN POLITICIANS DON'T WALK THE WALK
For the last several years as a result of provincial legislation following the Walkerton disaster and scandal there have been ongoing source water protection plans & meetings including public participation. Unfortunately however it isn't the public who make the decisions. Wednesday's K-W Record advises us that Kitchener Council have decided that a gas bar in a Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA) is O.K. Well it's not. The area that Council have approved for the gas bar is adjacent to Strasbourg Creek and it's flood plain. As it falls within a WHPA obviously there are public drinking wells nearby.
As always we hear the drivel about strict regulations and strict monitoring by the "authorities". If that were even half true, then gas stations in environmentally sensitive areas wouldn't even be considered. Supposedly the lack of repairs and maintenance at this gas bar "mitigates" the problem. Not true. Gas stations buried tanks are the problem and always have been. Just look to Elmira for leadership. Voisin Motors at the north end of Elmira left behind contamination that needed remediation when they moved to the south end of Elmira. Oh and by the way, where exactly are they now? I'm not joking, our Council located them in the south industrial zone right beside the closed south wellfield. The closed south wellfield allegedly being reopened in 2028. Sure, when hell freezes over.
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Yup, right beside the creek. I looked up my handy dandy reference guide to polluted water wells, oops I mean drinking water wells and indeed K34 and K36, the Strasbourg wellfield are right there. The fact is that these wells are probably impacted by the Ottawa St. Landfill but if by chance they aren't, then by all means treat them with the ongoing historical contempt that we have all our other drinking wells. Maybe a chemical company could move in next door to add a little icing to this environmental cake.
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