Our Water Requires Protection Against Pipeline Accidents

Dear Editor. I have been involved on the matter of the Abbotsford-Mission water system for 4 years and would like to suggest that the new Water Act have
provisions to protect water consumers from the risks of toxic diluted
bitumen which contains substance such as benzine.

At a Fraser Health Authority Board meeting Jan 2012 I asked the public
health officer if Fraser Health, who is responsible for water quality, was
concerned about a diluted bitumen spill into two aquifers – Chilliwack and
Abbotsford that the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline travels over –
he said that Fraser Health is absolutely concerned.

Here are stats re spills Transportation Safety Board
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/stats/pipeline/2012/ss12.asp
Emergency Management BC
http://embc.gov.bc.ca/em/incidents/incidents-2013/2013-10-21_2013-10-27.pdf

As you will note there have been over 2200 hazardous material spills in
the past year and 22 in Oct 2013 in Southern BC alone.

The changes to the Water Act MUST protect consumers of water from the
risks of toxic chemicals from pipelines.

Lynn Perrin BGS MPP
FairAll Consulting
www.fairallconsulting.ca

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