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Another wasted study

here certainly appears to be a number of valid reasons for pursuing the issue of flood control on Keremeos Creek.

First there was some effort on the part of former Area “G” Director Elef Christensen to begin a course of action to deal with the annual flooding of Keremeos Creek near Olalla.

Then there was the generosity of the province in providing $25,000 for a consultant’s study to provide some possible courses of action.

 

As of Jan. 26, the public realized a net gain of zero, after the  Environment and Infrastructure Committee of the regional district board agreed to receive the report and do nothing further - after a very short discussion that didn’t include one word of participation  from current Area

“G” Director Angelique Wood.

 

It was a most disappointing conclusion to anyone interested in curbing wasteful public spending.

One has to wonder why such an expensive study was allowed to be commissioned in the first place, if there was no political will to act on its results.

One also has to wonder why such an expensive study omitted options that were obvious to committee members themselves, offered up during a very brief discussion.

One has to wonder further why the new director for Area “G” chose to offer nothing to the discussion. The residents affected by this expensive study are her constituents - the least she could have done was to lobby the board for a course of action that would see the report’s recommendations followed up at some future time.

Money arguments aside, the flooding problem is destined to repeat itself - and as Area “B” Director George Bush noted  - there is potential for downstream health issues as a result of pasture flooding. In addition, the flooded area is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes - which will not be subject to a West Nile program this year.

There certainly appears to be a number of valid reasons for pursuing the issue of flood control on Keremeos Creek. It’s a shame there is no political will to do so.