Take That! You Squeamish Environmentalists....

"Governments have been more interested in playing to the gallery of public opinion than taking on the harder task of explaining the facts to their constituents and critics."  former environment minister David Anderson

The city of Victoria is the only major Pacific Coast city north of San Diego distinguished by its lack of sewage treatment.  Halifax, on the opposite coast of the Atlantic once dumped its untreated waste into its harbour before inaugurating a $333-million treatment plant in 2008. 

Montreal was infamous for its lack of adequate waste treatment releasing waste into the St. Lawrence because the municipality deemed it too costly to construct a treatment plant, at a time when it committed a vast sum of money to host the 1967 World Exhibition.  Choices, priorities.

It made a difference in Halifax which had dumped its waste into an enclosed basin.  Within months of opening its new about-time waste treatment plant, the city's beaches were able to open to swimmers for the first time in decades.

In contrast, Victoria, according to environmental scientists, is simply flowing "a tiny pinprick of nutrient-laden, organic sewage" into the ocean where the fast, oxygen-rich waters of the Juan de Fuca strait make quick work of it.  "It's mostly organic matter, and Mother Nature's really good at processing that", explained Tom Pedersen, director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.

"The truth is, we're in a very fortunate position here in Victoria in which to discharge sewage into a marine setting."  Top ocean scientists are critical of Victoria preparing to enact a $780-million plan to halt the dumping of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean.  Nothing less than pandering to a squeamish electorate, claim the scientists.

Fancy that!  "It all comes down to the 'icky factor'; People don't like the idea of putting poop in the ocean."  Almost all of Victoria's sewage is discharged through pipes more than a kilometre off the city's southern coast.  A 6mm mesh net sieves out items like feminine products, condoms, and other large particulates.

Eight British Columbia ocean scientists have agreed:  "It makes no sense to replace a natural ecosystem service with a human creation that is energy inefficient and has other harmful environmental consequences." 

Six former medical health officers of the province also opposed a treatment regime: "The proposed additional treatment will not result in any improvement for public health and may in fact have negative impact."

The scientists claim that the city requires a prohibiting "source control" regime to educate people about flushing substances like pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and the like noxious substances down the toilet.  But enviornmental advocates and community organizations are wedded to their concept of environmental responsibility.

Their mascot, elaborating on the title People Opposed to Outflow Pollution (POOP) is an anthropomorphized log of excrement they have named Floatie.  And since Victoria has been under a provincial order dating to 2006 to improve its treatment program, the facility is set to proceed. 

No floaties in Victoria's outflow sewage.