The quality of the drinking water at Riverton has been of great interest to locals for some time now. A recent petition in the town, calling for an end to the spraying of herbicides along the river banks above the intake, attracted over 450 signatures in just 5 days - a notable response considering the small population of Riverton (perhaps 800 adults). The chairman of Environment Southland however was not impressed by the petition and wrote a somewhat scathing article in the Southland Times to that effect. Here is the 'letter to the editor' I sent in response.
Half truths, emotions, entrenched beliefs – Environment Southland Chairman Stuart Collie describes the hundreds of Riverton people that signed a recent petition for safer drinking water. He said Riverton people,‘developed a head of steam’ and’ left little room for facts’, over the issue of riverside spraying, then perversely went on to concede that spraying does affect water quality, as monitoring by his council showed. In a second article, ’Steer clear of polluted water’, EnvironmentSouthland and Public Health South encouraged us to be alert to the potential health risks caused by water pollution and to be ‘water savvy’.
The people of Riverton are showing that they already are.
Half truths, emotions, entrenched beliefs – Environment Southland Chairman Stuart Collie describes the hundreds of Riverton people that signed a recent petition for safer drinking water. He said Riverton people,‘developed a head of steam’ and’ left little room for facts’, over the issue of riverside spraying, then perversely went on to concede that spraying does affect water quality, as monitoring by his council showed. In a second article, ’Steer clear of polluted water’, EnvironmentSouthland and Public Health South encouraged us to be alert to the potential health risks caused by water pollution and to be ‘water savvy’.
The people of Riverton are showing that they already are.
1 comment:
Interesting to know.
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