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Sewage-project backers use misleading data

Re: “Sewage is biggest source of water pollution,” letter, May 12.

Re: “Sewage is biggest source of water pollution,” letter, May 12.

Although construction of the controversial sewage-treatment plant is now underway, it seems its supporters are still willing to cite misleading information whenever anyone raises objections to this wasteful exercise.

The letter writer asks: “How can discharging 82 million litres per day of raw sewage to waterways be considered essentially to secondary standards?” when he must know that 99.97 per cent of the effluent is pure water, which is screened so that nothing larger than a small pea escapes, and is discharged not into our “waterways” but far offshore into the deep ocean that is uniquely suitable for providing natural treatment.

He then complains that only seven of the 13 municipalities in Greater Victoria will benefit from the new plant, apparently unaware that the three Saanich Peninsula municipalities have had secondary treatment of their sewage for many years because ocean conditions around the peninsula are not ideal for natural treatment. Sooke also has its own treatment plant, and septic tanks deal with the minimal waste from the other two rural communities.

Although we are now beyond the point of no return, it is regrettable that the opinions of clowns such as Mr. Floatie and board members of Tourism Victoria who, as I far as I know, have no scientific expertise, should have prevailed over the advice of both Canadian and U.S. marine scientists and local public-health officers.

Apparently, $1 billion of taxpayers’ money is not too much to satisfy the uninformed and emotional concerns of potential visitors.

John Weaver

Victoria