'the pipe' by tory miles

(more comics at www.uoguelph.ca/~vmiles or click on one of the comics below).

the following letter was recently printed in the guelph tribune and is written by dave sills, a member of stop the pipeline. (you can sing along with dave by clicking on the  "lake erie pipeline blues" song which he submitted over a year ago.)  

dear editor,

re your october 30/07 editorial, "dance by numbers", the first public
'information centre' on guelph's wastewater treatment master plan was
held recently and i was shocked to see that one of the proposed solutions
to guelph's coming sewage capacity problem is a mega-pipeline to the
great lakes. here we go again!

the pipeline option was removed from the master plan on the water supply
side last year for very good reasons: the incredible financial cost, the
huge amounts of energy needed to pump the water over such long distances,
the destruction of farmland and environmentally sensitive areas, and the
fact that guelph residents want to find local solutions to our problems,
not foist them on to some other jurisdiction. all of these reasons also
apply to any potential wastewater pipeline.

i understand that the provincial environmental assessment rules dictate
that all feasible options must be considered in such documents. the key
word here is 'feasible'. and on that point nothing has changed - a great
lakes mega-pipeline is not a feasible option for guelph.

a mega-pipeline to the great lakes needs to be removed as an option from
the wastewater treatment master plan as soon as possible. doing so will
ensure that more time can be spent developing practical alternatives.

dave sills

'water in guelph' by tory miles

conservation / demand management

“measures to use water more efficiently, to recycle water, and to conserve water, are by far the most cost effective and environmentally sound ways of meeting new water demands. a litre of water saved is just as good as a new litre of water supplied.” 

                                                        sandra postel, 
                                                        international water expert and author

“water conservation has historically been viewed by the mainstream water industry as a standby or temporary source of supply that is typically invoked only during times of drought or other emergency water shortage. this limited view of conservation’s role is both outdated and rapidly changing: utilities that have pioneered the use of conservation as a viable long-term supply option have achieved remarkable results, which in some cases have downsized or averted planned water and wastewater system expansions. this approach has saved considerable capital and operating costs for utilities and consumers, avoided environmental degradation, and built political bridges instead of walls.”

                                                         amy vickers, 
                                                         from "handbook of water use and conservation"

“i would also caution against counting on a great lakes pipeline being in place by 2035. the 30 years until then may be highly unpredictable due to climate change, which seems to be happening faster than anyone has anticipated. interbasin water transfers are not allowed, which rules out georgian bay. this leaves only lake erie, an international body of water, as a possible source.  dropping water levels as a result of climate change may make large-scale withdrawals, which will require international approval, an uncertain proposition. in view of these uncertainties, i feel that we need to do our utmost to protect the water we have, and to avoid unnecessary risks, not just over the next 30 years, but over the long term.”

                                                         e.o. frind, ph.d., p.eng., 
                                                         from "presentation to regional council,
                                                         september 27,2006.
                                                         review of water issues at the waterloo westside"

further info...