The Campaign Begins

My nomination papers have now been signed and delivered to City Hall. A special thanks to my two nominators, Balbir Singh (Bill) Khangura, P. Eng., a professional engineer whom I have known for over 30 years, and Karen Matty, a good friend of the family for over 25 years.

The issues facing the Abbotsford community are many, not the least of which is the City’s need for reliable, long-term clean water supply. My desire is to learn as much as I can about this upcoming challenge, which led me to attend yesterday’s presentation on the proposed P3 (“public/private partnership”) Stave Lake Water Project. This presentation was hosted by the City at Garden Park Towers for residents and businesses located within the Clearbrook Waterworks District (CWD). I benefited from meeting and discussing some of the issues with a number of the CWD residents, one of its Trustees and representatives of CUPE.

For those unfamiliar with CWD, it was established in 1953 and provides water to approximately 10,000 residents of Abbotsford (approximately 1,200 residential properties and 200 commercial and strata properties). CWD obtains all of its water from wells within an aquifer (commonly known as the second aquifer), which is generally located at a depth ranging between 50 and 150 feet, (15 to 45 meters). CWD was the Gold Medal winner of the 2008 and 2009 Berkeley Springs Water tasting competition for the best tasting water in the World.

Despite the information provided, I came away from the presentation sensing that people have way more questions than answers at this point. My views so far? We can do without a lot of things, but water ISN’T one of them. Our population is growing and with that comes the need for additional sources of water. Water is not just a local issue. It’s regional. Coordinating with neighboring local governments is critical, and part of the mandate of City Council in dealing with this difficult dilemma. Of course, further information is required. What are your thoughts?

For those of you who may wish to follow this dialogue and my campaign, I plan to post here daily, providing my schedule, thoughts, and conclusions.

I want to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me directly, or leave a comment or an e-mail. Of course, I am looking for your support, but most importantly I want to know what you think about the issues facing our great city.