Monday, June 14, 1999

After months of negotiation the community of Erickson was placed under a May 1st deadline to chlorinate their water supply. In response to this the Water Action Group (WAG) was formed and a blockade setup on April 29th at the gate to the Erickson Improvement Districts water intake sight at Arrow Creek.

As of today's date the blockade at the "Watergate" has been in place for 36 days. That's really good news for the people of Erickson, BC because that's over 1 month more time with no chlorine in their precious water. With that amount of time invested in this non-violent action they are not about to give it up now. The participation in the blockade has built to over 120 people, from all walks of life, involved on a rotating basis.

The conflict has been building to this point over the last year as residents have tried in vain to get the Ministry of Health to listen to their pleas. The Erickson Improvement District which operates the water system that supplies Erickson and Creston with irrigation and domestic water has been under order to chlorinate since February 24, 1998. Since then the EID and Erickson residents have been appealing to the MOH to allow them to install alternative "Point of Entry" water treatment systems instead of chlorinating, but to no avail.

The Erickson water system is primarily an irrigation system with over 90% of the water being used for irrigation purposes during the summer months. Since coming into service in 1930 it has provided Erickson with virtually problem free water. Nothing has changed in the watershed in that time. There have never been any disease outbreaks related to the water supply other than a few cases of Giardia in the 1980's. This has since been rectified through elimination of beavers in the creek.

The Point of Entry water treatment proposed by the people of Erickson would treat the water as it enters each individual dwelling using ultra-violet light and micro-filtration.

According to WAG spokespeople it would actually improve the water by removing sediment and organic matter as well as eliminating bacteria and any threat of parasite contamination. By contrast chlorine would not have any effect on parasites and would only contaminate the water with chlorine by-products that have been found to cause cancer in humans in recently published studies, including one by Health Canada.

There are further concerns that applying over 6 million gallons per day of chlorinated water to the land will result in contamination of farm land and aquatic environments.

Water Action Group representatives Ralph Moore and Lonnie Lecerf have been served with notice that an application has be made for an injunction to remove the blockade. They plan to challenge the application in court and have over 20 affidavits from various concerned residents of Erickson as evidence. The court date has yet to be set. In the meantime it's business as usual at the "Watergate"