Victoria, Tofino sewage must be treated
Nanaimo Daily News Editorial
June 17, 2014
Washington state is raising a stink about Victoria's sewage. Again. Despite numerous pushes towards building a state-of-theart sewage treatment plant to serve the Greater Victoria/Capital Regional District area, and equally strenuous pushbacks, Victoria still dumps its raw sewage out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, adjacent to Port Angeles.
An editorial in the Seattle Times has chastised Victoria again. The latest blockage is Esquimalt city council refusing to issue a permit for an almost $800-million facility that was projected to open in 2018, and the province has indicated it won't overrule the city.
The Times also noted that Pam Elardo, director of the King County Wastewater Treatment Division and an advisor to the Victoria project, points out that no other metropolitan area in the developed world dumps untreated sewage in the ocean anymore. The Times noted that two decades ago, Washington state called for a tourism boycott to push Victoria towards treatment. Victoria's unofficial mascot, "Mr. Floatie," an off-colour, slightly humorous attempt at shaming Victoria into doing the right thing, has made several appearances. The end seemed to be in sight. Until the latest movement, this time by Esquimalt.
The cumbersome nature of Victoria politics may perhaps be the major reason why it is almost impossible to get major projects done in the CRD.
There are 13 cities and/or districts represented in the CRD, stretching from Sooke to Langford/Highlands to Sidney, and everything to the south. It's virtually impossible to get that many elected officials on the same page. Even when you have most of them heading in one direction, just one has to jump out of line and the whole train comes to a screeching halt.
Amalgamation is a strenuously resisted possibility by those enjoying their individual fiefdoms within Greater Victoria. It only makes sense to reduce local government costs and redundancy by putting these areas under one administrative roof.
It's likely something that the provincial government would need to instigate to make it a reality, however.
While we're at it with Victoria, how about Tofino? The beautiful little town on Vancouver Island's west coast, which jumped to the front of B.C.'s "must-see" tourist spots following the Clayoquot Sound logging protests a generation ago, continues to send its sewage seaward without treatment. They have been working on a plan that could see a treatment facility in about five years. But even Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne, a marine biologist, has referenced the "sometimes glacial pace of government."
It's disgusting, really; and more than a tad hypocritical, considering Victoria and Tofino's reputations as tourism destinations. Yes, the oysters, bivalves and bottom feeders can eat to the full when the sewage sinks, but even just the thought of that much waste being pumped offshore has to make some swimmers slightly squeamish.
Charity begins at home, it's said. Well, it's high time that Victoria, and Tofino, have a look in the mirror when it comes to looking after the environment, does the right thing, and fast tracks treatment of its own sewage using the most modern technology available today.
It's embarrassing, and one would think bad for business, to have two of beautiful B.C.'s most scenic areas treat the environment with such disregard.
" We want to hear from you.
Send comments on this editorial to letters@nanaimodailynews.com.
Nanaimo Daily News Editorial
June 17, 2014
Washington state is raising a stink about Victoria's sewage. Again. Despite numerous pushes towards building a state-of-theart sewage treatment plant to serve the Greater Victoria/Capital Regional District area, and equally strenuous pushbacks, Victoria still dumps its raw sewage out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, adjacent to Port Angeles.
An editorial in the Seattle Times has chastised Victoria again. The latest blockage is Esquimalt city council refusing to issue a permit for an almost $800-million facility that was projected to open in 2018, and the province has indicated it won't overrule the city.
The Times also noted that Pam Elardo, director of the King County Wastewater Treatment Division and an advisor to the Victoria project, points out that no other metropolitan area in the developed world dumps untreated sewage in the ocean anymore. The Times noted that two decades ago, Washington state called for a tourism boycott to push Victoria towards treatment. Victoria's unofficial mascot, "Mr. Floatie," an off-colour, slightly humorous attempt at shaming Victoria into doing the right thing, has made several appearances. The end seemed to be in sight. Until the latest movement, this time by Esquimalt.
The cumbersome nature of Victoria politics may perhaps be the major reason why it is almost impossible to get major projects done in the CRD.
There are 13 cities and/or districts represented in the CRD, stretching from Sooke to Langford/Highlands to Sidney, and everything to the south. It's virtually impossible to get that many elected officials on the same page. Even when you have most of them heading in one direction, just one has to jump out of line and the whole train comes to a screeching halt.
Amalgamation is a strenuously resisted possibility by those enjoying their individual fiefdoms within Greater Victoria. It only makes sense to reduce local government costs and redundancy by putting these areas under one administrative roof.
It's likely something that the provincial government would need to instigate to make it a reality, however.
While we're at it with Victoria, how about Tofino? The beautiful little town on Vancouver Island's west coast, which jumped to the front of B.C.'s "must-see" tourist spots following the Clayoquot Sound logging protests a generation ago, continues to send its sewage seaward without treatment. They have been working on a plan that could see a treatment facility in about five years. But even Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne, a marine biologist, has referenced the "sometimes glacial pace of government."
It's disgusting, really; and more than a tad hypocritical, considering Victoria and Tofino's reputations as tourism destinations. Yes, the oysters, bivalves and bottom feeders can eat to the full when the sewage sinks, but even just the thought of that much waste being pumped offshore has to make some swimmers slightly squeamish.
Charity begins at home, it's said. Well, it's high time that Victoria, and Tofino, have a look in the mirror when it comes to looking after the environment, does the right thing, and fast tracks treatment of its own sewage using the most modern technology available today.
It's embarrassing, and one would think bad for business, to have two of beautiful B.C.'s most scenic areas treat the environment with such disregard.
" We want to hear from you.
Send comments on this editorial to letters@nanaimodailynews.com.
