This is in response to Robert Shepherd’s letter about the sewage plant (Sewage plant too rich) and his question on why we insist on protecting the ocean even though we do not drink from it.
I wonder if Mr. Shepherd, who alludes to local grown food as well, ever eats fish. Does he understand where fish get their food? Would he like to eat a fish that had just eaten some of our raw sewage before it was caught?
I’d also like to ask Mr. Shepherd where he thinks rain comes from, whether he gardens, or if he likes taking walks in the rain. Rain, I would remind him, comes from the ocean through evaporation, lifts up to form clouds, then pours down on our gardens and our thick little noggins. Would Mr. Shepherd like some sewage-filled rain to pour onto his ripening tomatoes, or his head, while he’s out walking?
Mr. Shepherd should know, there are very good reasons to build a sewage plant, and most of them have plenty to do with eating local, and our health. Perhaps they did not know this during the Napoleonic Wars Mr. Shepherd alludes to, but in the 21st century, even school kids understand why we need the sewage treatment plant.
As for the cost, we should have thought of that for the 20 or more years where we hummed and hawed about getting it done.
Will Webster
Saanich