It warmed my heart to read the letter from Dick Murphy that you included in your May 7 edition. Dick is right that the public realm is under attack. I was especially pleased that the first item on his list was BC Hydro’s plan to, as he so aptly put it, “pull the plug on Kootenay Lake”.
I am so happy to see that other people are paying attention to Hydro’s scheme. Local politicians, even the green ones, don’t seem willing to fight to stop this from happening, so it is up to the people to let Hydro know that it is not acceptable.
If they dredge out the plug, they will have the power to turn what is now a relatively natural lake into a reservoir like the Arrow reservoir, which is half empty most of the time. If there is money in lowering the level, they will do it. The people downstream who already have a difficult time dealing with the spring flush could be overwhelmed by torrential flow, if the natural protection is no longer there.
BC Hydro has already spent half a million dollars on this, money that would have been much better spent cleaning up the mess made by previous dredging. I believe that they should be told to leave our beautiful lake and river alone. If you agree with me and Mr. Murphy, please phone or e-mail Sabrina Locicero at sabrina.locicero@gmail.com or 250-365-4656.
She awaits your call.
Rod Retzlaff
Glade