Lethbridge residents need to think about the future of their water supply
By Lethbridge Herald on December 18, 2024.
Editor:
I’m hoping to reach all the large water users and citizens of southern Alberta who read this paper.
Are you watching or listening to what’s happening in regards to water and water allocation in the province? I attended the Alberta government open house in Fort Macleod on Dec. 9 and I was very disappointed in the format. There was no presentation on the plans going forward around water allocation.
This is obviously of concern to many by just looking at the number of people who attended this open house. There were only a few staff available to question and then white boards where you could write your questions on sticky notes and attach them to those boards.
How can this be considered consultation?
Have you thought about the damage to the water from the Oldman river due to the proposed Grassy Mountain mine that Northback wants to open?
They need huge amounts of water to run that operation. There is already limited water in the Oldman River and with the drought situation it ca n only g et worse.
Have you read the letter from past mayor Chris Spearman?
His questions to Northback have yet to be answered.
The pollution this mine will most likely cause will have an impact on the food industry in your fine city of Lethbridge.
To all of the feedlot operators and irrigation farmers in this area, are you ready to have the water you use be polluted by a foreign mining company?
Remember what BSE did to the economy of this country when we had one cow show up positive. Imagine if your potatoes, sugar beets, cows et cetera show signs of selenium poisoning.
What do you think that will do to your financial worth?
You have a by-election today. I hope you send a strong message to the UCP to make them sit up and finally listen to concerned citizens. There are three parties running in this election. I hope you all think long and hard when you cast your vote. For those not able to vote I think it’s time to get your letter writing hands working. Phone, write or visit your MLAs over this holiday season and tell them your concerns regarding protecting our water and the headwaters of the Eastern slopes.
We can’t afford to sit back and let the damage to our drinking water happen. Please research this issue by listening to credible people that have no economic interest in the water and only have concerns for the health and wellbeing of the citizens in the Oldman river basin.
Northback only has interests in lining the pockets of an Australian billionaire. Merry Christmas.
Marie Aitken
Claresholm
19-18
Lining the pockets of the rich at the expense of average Albertan is what these Reformers have been doing since the Ralph Klein days . We estimate that Albertans have been cheated out of $1.2 trillion by slashing Lougheed’s oil royalties and corporate taxes and who do we see supporting them and stopping us from defeating them? Mindless seniors and Rural Albertans who don’t care what they do to us, that’s how stupid they are, isn’t it?
well said!
Whole heartedly agree! Thanks for this Marie Aitken!
As we all, should, know, the waters supplying millions of us downstream are already allocated. If a water-guzzling Grassy Mountain open pit coal mine becomes real, will some of the allocations be cut back to accommodate it?
What would the rural irrigation farm UCP voting base think/do if their water allocation was cut back? Does the Smith/Parker UCP/TBA think they will all still vote for them anyway? Would urban dwellers be satisfied to have one shower or tub bath/week with washing at the sink in between, for example, let alone not watering lawns, etc.?
Also, it appears that Alberta’s population is ever increasing, and not that anyone be denied moving and living here, but here we are, in a province that’s still in a drought with potential water shortages. Water shortages globally have resulted in huge migration of peoples and actual wars. Perhaps, we, and the powers that be, need to keep this in mind. The UCP cannot be trusted to do this, thus, another one of the many reasons I do not vote for them.
Lawyers warn about possible lawsuits from Saskatchewan and why wouldn’t they. You can bet the fools supporting them won’t care.
One of our friends made a good point at coffee the other days. With so many Albertans showing how disgusted they are with how they are being treated why haven’t these gutless MLAs stood behind their constituents and shown Danielle Smith what they are hearing and if she won’t listen why haven’t they made it public?
Like Kristy Freeland did. She had, had enough of Trudeau’s stupidity. I hope he resigns and she takes over. It would be nice to have an intelligent Albertan as prime minister instead of one of these Reformers treating us like morons, wouldn’t it?
Freeland is part of Turdo’s stupidity. Just look at her budgets. Billions of our hard earned dollars to her nazi cohorts in Ukraine,freezing bank accounts of peaceful protesters ,gst tax holiday joke- – – . Last thing this country needs is that ho for P.M.
So you show no respect for the thousands of Ukrainian families in this province whose Relatives are being victimized by the Russians ? But it’s okay for your Reform Party pals to destroy the Carbon Tax and take money out of the pockets of seniors who desperately need it, create an $85 billion debt and a $260 billion oil well cleanup mess and that’s okay. How stupid are you?
“Last thing this country needs is that ho for P.M.”
This gutless, cowardly remark speaks volumes of you.
You sincerely need to grow up.
Here! Here! Thank you, Marie Aitken, for clearly stating the obvious.
While us true Conservatives are pleased that the NDP won the question is why was it even close when your water supply was the main concern. These fools who voted for the UCP were giving Smith permission to destroy your water supply and showed no concern for our children’s future. They were also telling their Doctors that they fully supported how badly they have been treated by these Reformers and they might as well leave that’s how stupid they are. If that’s not bad enough they were voting to render their property worthless. If the water supply was polluted and Medicine hat began suing Lethbridge their property tax increases would make it impossible to sell their homes that’s how stupid they are, aren’t they? .
it’s just water…it trades for nothing compared to gold, and is worthless compared to bitcoin, which is so sublime in its incredible worth you don’t even have to lug it around like you would with stupid water. even coal is worth more than water. wake up lefties. how many lifeguards does stupid water employ? now, many miners does coal employ? see…coal is better.
more proof: how many towns are named for coal v water? quick count…coaldale, coalhurst, lethbridge was coalbanks, coleman (ok, they don’t spell so well there)…and many coal-based school names. on the other side, seems just waterton (using names with river and lake is cheating).
water….in the end, does it matter once it passes under the bridge?
Apparently you haven’t been listening to what people are saying. No living being can survive without water and you can’t eat coal. Why was it such a concern for Lougheed that he put protections on our mountains to make certain fools didn’t pollute it. How much are you willing to fork over to pay for bottled water and where are the farmers and ranchers going to find enough water to run their operations properly?
The pollution from coal can include deadly arsenic which of course can kill you.
agreed, and, ditto to gold mining…but, seems only those without the money to adorn themselves with gold are doing their part to stop the poisoning from that stuff.
Coal is burned inside the home in open pits for daily cooking and crop drying, producing a high concentration of arsenic in indoor air.
Only in China though, unless you’re burning coal in your fireplace. Rev up the hair on fire scare.
i am just using a little satire in support of the primacy of water. i have not lost my marbles.
I knew you were.