The Allen Road property chosen for a proposed sewage treatment plant is not the "furthest point from any residential homes."
There are five homes immediately adjacent to the site. Close by is an extended waterfront community, a residential area with at least 24 houses, a 14-unit trailer court, an approved 16-lot subdivision and the Porpoise Bay Properties subdivision. Further east are the large Sandy Hook and Tuwanek residential areas. The site is also situated between a private campsite and one of the most beautiful and well-attended provincial campsites on the Coast.
Cathie Roy has inferred (Coast Reporter, editorial July 17) that this is a "not in my backyard" issue. Since East Porpoise Bay's backyard is already hosting the Sechelt landfill, the Dusty Road treatment plant, and the largest open pit sand and gravel mine in North America, we suggest that it is a "too much in my backyard" issue.
How is a $1-million lift station for the Dusty Road plant less economical than a new system for $3-million? All sewer lines may head there, but they also head toward the existing sea-level Ebbtide facility. Why can't the public works yard be transferred to East Porpoise Bay property, and the Ebbtide facility be expanded?
Building another low-cost facility, that will almost certainly malfunction, in a residential neighbourhood will lower the value and livability of adjoining properties, and discourage tourism and further residential development in this area.
We shouldn't have to provide a cheap sewage solution for the whole district. There are adequate, esthetical and environmentally sound systems available and we ask our government to provide the funds and research to explore and implement one of these alternatives in an area that will not so severely impact adjacent residential areas and tourism.
Rosella M. Leslie and
John O. Alvarez
East Porpoise Bay
