From: Stephanie Salsnek
As a resident of Willowbrook Valley for over 30 years, I’ve seen many changes but only recently very serious problems. The inaccurate gossip about water shortages have plagued new buyers and affected the value of our homes, yet we have no idea who started that malicious and false rumour. NOW… we are really faced with problems and no one is listening!!
Since the transfer of responsibility to the RDOS under the auspices of a water advisory board, we are now faced with an increase of 230% but we are facing a significant decrease in support and service. Much more seriously, the lack of sensible improvements to the water system and drainage infrastructure has led to serious, health threatening flooding and no monitoring of blatant mismanagement by property owners. I watched helplessly last season as one homeowner surreptitiously pumped water into a neighbour’s yard.
An overturned hot water heater with the top and bottom cut off is NOT a culvert. A drainage ditch that has been dammed by the property owner to enhance landscaping should NOT be allowed.
The unchecked flooding, not managed properly by culverts or drainage has led to major concerns: sewer leaching into drinking water, the potential of no water supply in case of power outage rendering us with no fire protection, an arbitrary boil water advisory in place for over a year, serious damage to homes and very upsetting disruption to the families affected, to name but a few. The stress of being displaced from your home, the costs of repairs that insurance may or may not cover, the extreme difficulties that are desperately frustrating are but a few of the challenges facing families.
It is baffling and a waste of money, time and resources that the RDOS wants to conduct another study on what needs to be done rather than use the one that was done prior to them taking over the system. We Willowbrookians are fully aware that if just ONE of the RDOS staffers lived here, we would NOT be in this mess.
RDOS, step up! Be different than other bureaucracies and actually DO something for your constituents.
We are counting on you, just this once!