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Letters: Poor Aldergrove water choices risking environment

 

Dear Editor,

 

The Salmon River Enhancement Society has significant concerns about the East Langley pipeline project carrying water to Aldergrove.

The pipeline has caused major damage to the banks of the Salmon River at 52nd Avenue and 244th Street.  Small tributaries, at least one of which appears to be a coded (i.e. protected) tributary, have been covered over and lost.

A much wider swath of trees and vegetation has been removed than we were promised. Since the ravine is very steep, removing trees destabilizes the bank so a landslide is a possible outcome.

When this project was contemplated several years ago, SRES advocated routing the pipeline along 64th Avenue rather than 52nd. The problems we are seeing along 52nd once again bring into question the choice of this route; 64th would have carried with it a much lower environmental risk.

Compounding the choice of the riskier 52nd Avenue route, Langley Township chose not to directionally drill the pipe from the top of the bank. We have yet to be given an adequate explanation for this failure to use directional drilling.

Directional drilling would have prevented the destruction to the banks that has horrified those in the neighbourhood. 

Doug McFee, Langley