Will the hatchery be protected?

Dear Editor: Are you convinced that our trout hatchery will be protected?

If you have been following the Banks Crescent 424-unit condo proposal in Summerland, you will know the development could damage the aquifer which supplies the trout hatchery with spring water. Concerns about damage to the aquifer is why the Freshwater Fisheries Society asked Lark Enterprises Ltd. (the developer) in January to provide an emergency treated water source to be in place before construction and for the life of the hatchery.

But you can see just how hard it has been for the society to get the developer to locate and pay for that emergency water source.

In January, April and June, the developer said they would provide an emergency water source. Then suddenly in July, the developer and their professionals said they would not damage the aquifer and therefore, the emergency water source was not needed. They say their opinion is based on experience but also on a research paper from Korea published in 2000.

Besides, they say they will monitor construction and, if something does go wrong, they will stop right away. But hold on, the Korean research did not involve the same soils as found at Banks Crescent and did not involve an underlying aquifer.

Also, how does the developer plan to stop unforeseen damage to the aquifer once it starts? In the meantime, how are the fish at