To the Editor,
Re: New emergency plan for John Barsby students, Dec. 1.
Jamie Brennan, Nanaimo school board chairman, fears for the lives of school children who are at imminent risk of dying from the Colliery dams catastrophically failing.
I wonder if he has really looked at the information, or whether this is a political move.
We also care about school children and all people who live in the flood zone.
If the dams are really about to fail so terribly, Brennan should not be fear mongering in the newspapers but asking city staff to take steps right away to lower the level of the water in the dams.
This is possible, could be done relatively quickly and Save the Colliery Dams Representatives has suggested it to city staff.
Our conversation with staff and the Provincial Dam Safety Branch suggests they are comfortable with the early warning system that is in place right now.
They say the dams are stable and no further steps need to be taken until we go to the next step of rehabilitation, removal or rebuilding.
In the case of a flood event, we are told that it would take between four hours to several days to affect the zone downstream.
In the case of an earthquake, we were told that the earth movement would be the early warning needed to get to safety.
So let’s hope Brennan gets off his soapbox.
We all want people to be safe, but fear mongering does not allow for a rational discussion.
Roblyn Hunter
Nanaimo