It has been a week since E-Coli tests came back negative but chlorine is still being pumped into Chilliwack’s drinking water and the mayor is not happy about it.
Sharon Gaetz says the people in her city want their fresh drinking water back.
”Of course when we chlorinated the Greendale area because we are on a loop system chlorine has gone through the entire city. The first day I recieved a lot of comment from people who were not appreciating it. A lot of questions from people who for the first time all of a sudden realized what they lost in the taste and in the odourless water that we had.”
Gaetz says the city does not have a chlorination system designed for full time use and the current set up comes with a cost.
”We have a back up chlorination system and this back up chlorination system is at each of our 17 wells and it is a large enough system to go for three days and then we have to send the crews out to the wells again to replenish the chlorination in the water this happens and it is fairly labour intensive.”
Gaetz says the city is powerless to shut off the chlorine as Fraser Health has the final say.
”They do have the power and I am sure they will use it I keep telling myself that I know their mandate is prevention and I am trying desperately hard to understand that and to give them credit for trying to keep our water safe but we have never had one sickness in Chilliwack from our water.”
Last Wednesday water in one area of Chilliwack tested positive for a minute amount of E-Coli but tests since have come back clean.
The positive test result also came the morning after a large public meeting where about 600 Chilliwack residents told Fraser Health they do not want chlorine in their drinking water.
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