NDAs TO HIDE WORKING GROUP DISCUSSIONS ABOUT PUTTING CONTAMINATED WELLS BACK INTO OUR DRINKING WATER SYSTEM

 

DISCRIMINATORY NOT TO INCLUDE ELMIRA'S NDMA WATER INTO THE MIX

If Kitchener and Cambridge are allowed to put their trichloroethylene (and more) contaminated water into the big regional Integrated Urban System (IUS) drinking water pot then why not Elmira as well? Lanxess Canada have been moaning and groaning for the last couple of years about wastefulness as they dump somewhat treated groundwater into the Canagagigue Creek. If the Region are seriously planning on using retread wells (Woolner, Pompeii, Greenbrook & Parkway Wellfields)  with long histories of contamination then how dare you discriminate against our fine, Mennonite, contaminated water. Is our chlorobenzene, NDMA and maybe even dioxin contaminated water not good enough for you? Who knows, the state of knowledge whether toxicity or health related is so limited that maybe the various contaminants might cancel each other out.

I see two possibilities here. We could develop a two tier water system whereby our politicians, developers, builders and real estate folks are serviced from the industrially uncontaminated wells and the rest of us can drink from the leftover, retreaded and refurbished chemically enhanced wells. Hmm maybe we might want to include doctors, hospital staff and  police in the favoured status, unenhanced wells. Certainly we shouldn't charge the unsophisticated masses a premium for the extra additives that they will receive.

The other plan is to begin deporting older, useless retired citizens like me who are no longer contributing to the general good. Now by "deporting" I only mean to kick them out of Waterloo Region in order to make room for all the vibrant, hard working newcomers that Doug Ford and the Region are set on.  Just think of the advantages. Bringing in an additional 300,000 people by 2051 is a piece of cake if no upgrades are needed to our wastewater treatment systems (sewage treatment plants), our hospitals and health care and our drinking water systems. Furthermore if you squeeze your eyes, just so, you can see that we might actually be increasing the lifespans of our older, more health challenged citizens by not making them drink our NDMA, dioxin, chlorobenzene, trichloroethylene, benzene etc. mostly low level contaminated water. Talk about a Win-Win !

Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are not everybodies cup of tea. There will be shouts of hooliganism, lying, non-transparency and non-accountability but that happens every time when elites (smarter/richer)  focus on who really matters which is them not us. For progress to happen you can't let the majority (non elite masses) run the show and it is so much easier to control them by keeping them in the dark. Hence the huge advantages to NDAs keeping difficult information from the uninformed public who wouldn't understand it anyways.  Or as Jeff MacIntyre (builder) stated in today's Record article titled "Region pushes NDAs for water talks";  he likes NDAs because he doesn't want to sit by the door like a Golden Retriever (the public) waiting for a report. Right on Mr. MacIntyre !

P.S. Just because Elmira water isn't good enough for us right now doesn't mean it's not good enough if a little diluted for the rest of the Region of Waterloo. Afterall wouldn't you drink a really fine wine from a jug just because someone peed in it the night before, emptied it and then filled it with a vintage beverage for you?   

THANK YOU TERRY PENDER, JIM POLING, BRENT JOLLY FOR YOUR CORRECTION IN TODAY'S K-W RECORD

 

Gosh that wasn't so difficult now was it? Your CORRECTION on page A2 with the title "Re: Councillor wants halt on new water-taking permits in Waterloo Region" was clear and concise. I certainly didn't need any thanks or applause or public adulation for doing what I've been doing here in Dogpatch (Elmira) for the last 36 years plus. My volunteer work has always been in the public interest and yes besides environmental failures that also includes picking up on mathematical failures that have gotten by reporters and editors. Based upon Record Editor Jim Poling and National Media Council Brent Jolly's pathetic mishandling of my polite and courteous request for a Correction/Retraction on the Lanxess Canada/Elmira Water Crisis story in late November 2025 written by Terry Pender; I decided this time to be a hard a*s about it. Instead of approaching initially only Terry Pender and Jim Poling and later Brent Jolly as I did last November, this time I sent out my Blog posting immediately to Woolwich Council, Waterloo Region Council, TRAC, MECP,  Lanxess, Woolwich Observer, and the K-W Record plus maybe a few more. Gosh I wonder how pissed all your developer friends were when they figured out that the Record instead of downplaying or minimizing the crisis you were actually (unintentionally probably) artificially increasing it with your sloppy mathematics. Now after that slap to the back of your heads just let me say this: WELL DONE! Your series on the Region's water crisis has been terrific so far. I am however still wondering when you are going to publish the truth about the retread wells the Region want to put back in service in order to supplement the volume of our water supply.

Today's Record article titled "Third-generation Wilmot resident has witnessed the water table drop" certainly casts doubt upon the demands and claims of developers and builders suggesting that this Region wide water crisis is an engineering problem only. I have no doubt that our friends at the University of Waterloo who have been studying groundwater recharge, discharge and elevations for decades have a good idea whether or not putting more straws into the communal milkshake will continue to lower the water levels to dangerous levels or not. Personally until I see peer accepted, proven and verified data on the Waterloo Moraine Aquifers in particular, I am very skeptical that those who have personally made tons of money through development and building are speaking for the public interest.  

K-W Record I applaud your Correction in today's newspaper. I really don't believe that your readers will hold it against Mr. Pender that he made an honest mistake. I expect that they, like myself, will be more impressed that the Record quickly acknowledged and corrected that mistake.  

      

SPEAKING TO THE INTENTIONALLY DEAF, BLIND & STUPID: i.e. PROVINCIAL, REGIONAL, & MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES

 

Clearly conflicts of interest are front and centre. All the above groups have been offered incentives not to be reasonable, responsive and honest in their dealings with myself and others still advocating for a proper cleanup of the downstream Canagagigue Creek, the former Uniroyal Chemical site and the Elmira Aquifers. These incentives may very well be worded as benefits to the local community that would otherwise not be forthcoming. Of course citizens and residents have never been invited to comment on this possible tradeoff. For example would you undermine your physical health in exchange for a tiny bit more financial security? Some might, some might not but none of us have been given that choice thanks to our non-transparent and non-accountable politicians.

So why do I continue? Simple. One most of them are not well informed and feel they have no need to be . Their direction and decisions have already been made for them and it's easier and safer not to rock the boat. So they need to be informed whether or not they act upon that knowledge. Secondly I'm producing documentation that in the future will condemn at least some of the worst offenders. All of them will scuttle like rats when the whole scam collapses. Whether it's slowly or with a bang they will be looking for cover and for excuses. The more written documentation and facts that they clearly have received the more difficult that will be. That is why I continue. The future (& present) need to know the truth and our elected representatives are not providing it.

THE PRICE OF WHISTLEBLOWING

 

Polluters don't like you.  Ministry of Environment doesn't like you. Municipal councils don't like you. Regional councils don't like you. Co-opted citizens don't like you. Fellow travellors of polluters don't like you. You get blacklisted from local jobs especially in a place like Elmira. You are discriminated against even by local groups desperate for volunteer assistance. Slander and bad mouthing occur behind your back. Others take credit for your volunteer work that you have done. Negativity and skepticism need special care and attention. Trust in strangers diminishes in direct proportion to the manipulative liars you meet, confront, console or get stabbed in the back by. 

The plus side of whistleblowing: You develop one hell of a sense of humour. You learn dozens of euphemisms for the word "liars". Irony and hypocrisy become much clearer. You see the humour in everything. Double entendres, synonyms, puns all leap out at you. Your newly found wicked sense of humour is coiled and ready to spring at any opportunity. Eventually both your lie and liar detection skills do improve. You begin to understand people's weaknesses and why they do what they do. You learn the various shades of good, bad, evil and sociopathic. 

Despite everything: Hope Springs Eternal

WELL DONE JOE GOWING DESPITE THE K-W RECORD LOOKING LIKE IDIOTS

 

Oh my God but it's so sad , so pathetic and so incredibly funny all at the same time. First of all I will be sending at least a few of my recent Blog postings to regional councillor Joe Gowing not because his saying one good thing is going to convince this political skeptic that he's an honest man but because it's the first intelligent thing I've heard so far from any regional councillor. Go suck a lemon Barry Vrbanovic. I will also of course be sending this one to the usual guilty parties but also to Brent Jolly of mediacouncil.ca. He's the twit who apparently decided that reporter Terry Pender shouldn't have to make corrections and or retractions after writing his story last November about Lanxess Canada and the failure of the groundwater cleanup here in Elmira, Ontario.

So why am I laughing so hard? Well when you in writing advise a newspaper (Waterloo Region Record) that their reporter (Mr. Pender) has written and had published a story with multiple inaccuracies in it and neither that newspaper nor the governing body for newspapers' accuracy (National Media Council) make even the slightest attempt to learn about, clarify or rectify those errors; and then the same reporter shortly afterwards makes some incredibly blatant (and public) errors in another story; well you just have to break out with the belly laughs.

So what did the divine Mr. Pender do this time? More importantly will the K-W Record actually publish the corrections or retractions? Should I really rub their noses in it here and now or should I wait for the corrections/retractions to appear. Or not. The thing is it's really not a bad article overall. It's title in today's Record is "Councillor wants to halt permits for gravel pit to draw groundwater". It's just unfortunate that the nasty and guilty parties will likely exert even more pressure on the Record to do their bidding. Bidding such as no longer publishing quotes from me for example. Bidding such as intentionally undermining knowledgeable citizens credibility when they are told to do so. Sorry K-W Record but you've been asking for this for a very long time. Just like the Woolwich Observer in Elmira I've tried very hard to be friends but you've behaved like ass*oles and clearly I'm fed up with you.

I'll give readers a very strong push in the right direction here. Do the math. Yes Terry Pender, Joe Gowing etc. are correct in that it is asinine to continue issuing new Water Taking Permits for industry, gravel pits and golf course until we know that we've absolutely got enough water to cover current  permits plus commercial and residential needs. That said however Mr. Pender is undermining his story by pretty egregious and blatant mathematics failures. For example is 9.7 million litres per day, ten times greater than Toyota's water useage at 24 litres per second? I don't think so.  Also is the 9.7 million litres a day water taking actually the same as 240 litres per second that he claims? Again I don't think so. Do the math folks. Apparently it's hard for both politicians and reporters to do math and certainly the former doesn't surprise me at all. Just look at M.P.P. Mike Harris Jr. Jr.. We all know that there are no qualifications required to be a parent (in his case five times) and we know the very same is true for politicians. That makes him a double winner. Newspapers' mathematical failures do surprise me somewhat.  I'm more interested in their integrity however. Will they publish a correction or retraction???

DEVELOPERS ARROGANCE ON DISPLAY? OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?

 Well I can see now why the Record didn't want to have reporter Terry Pender admit to a number of inaccuracies in his Lanxess/Elmira story back in late November. He'd already been tapped for this series on water issues in our Region and they didn't want even the tiniest blemish on his credibility. That is ironic to me because I never believed that Mr. Pender had made up his "facts" but that simply he'd been bullsh**ted to by Lanxess and other story tellers. 

Today's article by Mr. Pender is titled "Development should not be slowed by region's water shortage, MPP says". The MPP is our very own idiot Mike Harris Jr. Jr., the very same fellow who had five kids before he decided to research birth control. Apparently he thought it was generally like immunization and that there was a "herd immunity" element involved. You know one has to wonder about an out of town fellow who gets parachuted into a riding where the incumbent has the same name as him. Of course his Daddy and colleagues booted our Mike Harris out of his political seat to make room for Mike Harris Jr.Jr.

So Mike Harris Jr.Jr. feels that a water shortage should not delay growth and development. Wonderful then let him and his progeny go sit in the light, licking their lips pleading to have their water turned back on. Come on Mikey show us the way. Also Joseph Puopolo executive officer with Polocorp Inc. (development co.) stating that "Temporary infrastructure constraints should not be used as a justification to stall development.".  Really and when did Mr. Puopolo get his credentials in hydrogeology? How does he know it's a temporary shortage versus a long term result of mining too much water from the Waterloo Moraine?

Furthermore Mr. Puopolo has the audacity to suggest that the 20 per cent resiliency factor in the water system is unnecessary? Again he knows this how exactly? Common sense says otherwise.

Then we have the idiot Region of Waterloo forming a working group with developers to increase the supply of water to the system. Hmm odd that the Region didn't form a working group with the Food Bank to increase the supply of food to the needy. Or how about a working group with our local drug addicts to enhance the supply perhaps of safer drugs to decrease overdose deaths? And on and on. What makes the developers so special?  Ahh money $$$ and $$$ political $$$donations $$$perhaps? 

Maybe developers are not exactly arrogant.  They are simply puppet masters and which regional councillors are their puppets do you think? Is it even possible that recent job leavings in the Region's Water departments reflect a tiny, internal revolt by honest and concerned employees? Could professionally credentialed water managers have had enough of the glib, elected political twits always demanding full steam ahead on development and growth and damn the torpedoes? Could a few inside, honest individuals have decided that maybe one torpedo is desperately needed and they've fired it to shake up the entrenched, pro growth mantra making a few immensely wealthy at the expense of the many? 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? NO OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO RETREADED, CONTAMINATED DRINKING WELLS BEING PUT BACK IN SERVICE?

 

I thought that our authorities couldn't go much lower than ignoring dioxins flowing into the Martin swimming pond used by local Mennonite children for decades here in Elmira.  I was wrong. Based upon last Saturday's K-W Record story written by Luisa D'Amato titled "Will we have enough water?" it appears that they indeed can go lower. In order to keep the money/gravy train running for developers and builders the Region of Waterloo are suggesting dishonestly refurbishing and retreading long closed contaminated wells to put them back into service. Perhaps they will dilute them when possible in order to keep them under some theoretical (but intrinsically inaccurate) concentration protecting human health and maybe they won't especially when supplies are low. I stated that it was a "dishonest" refurbishment because the public have never been clearly advised as to the sources and toxic contents in that groundwater in the first place.

Today's Record carries new information from reporter Terry Pender in an article titled "Gravel pits seek water-taking permits in midst of crisis". Wow clearly both our regional councillors as well as our other authorities (MECP for example) have no shame. Recently the Region have approved a 30 litre per second withdrawal of water from Wilmot Township to be put into the Kitchener, Waterloo and area water systems. Now Esbaugh Sand & Gravel want to remove 9.7 million litres of pristine groundwater per day for use in the new Hallman gravel pit. Do you think they are going to be returning 9.7 million litres per day of pristine groundwater to the deeper aquifers or are they going to be returning dirty groundwater that has been used to wash debris, organic matter, leaves, surface and shallow bacteria, dust etc. from the stones that they have removed and crushed from near surface? The sand and gravel above those aquifers fifty to ninety feet below ground filtered out contaminants and has securely stored that water for decades and longer.

Ms. D'Amato's article from last Saturday briefly mentions that one of the three Parkway wells near Fairway Rd. and Manitou Dr. is contaminated. She did not mention highly toxic trichloroethylene (TCE) or that all three wells have been closed for good reason. These wells are close enough together that whichever one is pumping will very quickly draw the TCE plume towards it . That plume is already within the cone of influence of all three wells.  Secondly Ms. D'Amato did not mention long standing problems with the Greenbrook wells drawing contaminated water from under the Ottawa St. Landfill towards themselves. Avid newspaper readers may recall the Regional scandal involving their landfill sites illegally taking liquid toxic wastes from Varnicolor Chemical and other local polluters back in the early 1990s. Perhaps the human error several years ago at the Greenbrook Wellfield in which a driver discharged ammonia into the wrong tank (chlorine) causing an explosion was the excuse they needed to shut those wells down for a long rest. Finally what I suspect may by far be the worst of the lot is the Woolner/Pompeii Wellfields. There are literally dozens of hydrogeological reports from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s showing groundwater contamination naturally flowing downgradient from the back of Safety-Kleen (formerly Breslube) towards the aquifer's discharge point into the Grand River. The fact that the City of Kitchener and the Region had drinking wells known as "river wells" beside the Grand River only exacerbated the speed at which the contaminants flowed from upstream areas such as the "Black Lagoon" (between Breslube and the Grand R.). towards the Grand.

I dare local councils including Regional to continue ignoring these facts. You idiots are headed towards a future involving courts and all the money in the world will not wash the stink off of you.