4 THE WATER turbidity levels in North Shore res- ervoirs were over 40 times higher than recommended national drinking water standards on the weekend, but officials from North Shore Health and the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) say the water is safe to drink. By Elizabeth Collings News Reporter “‘Bacteriologically, “we don’t have any concerns about it, but esthetically, people have been phoning the office when they see it (water) turbid — tea-colored,’’ said Bill Kimmett, director of environmental! health at North Shore Health. And although turbidity renders disinfection less effective by reducing chlorine penetration, Kimmett said the recent jump in turbidity has not compromised the health quality of North Shore water. The cloudy water, running almost brown from the tap at times over the weekend, results from heavy) rainfall. GVRD spokesman Bud Elsie said, ‘‘The problem has been the increased rainfall! — as much as 12 inches in a 24-hour period plus about two inches of snow melt because the temperature went way up Over the weekend. But it’s all settling out now.”” Murkiness spurs run on bottled water John Morse, chief engineer of the water district, said that on Friday ‘‘most of the creeks were running brown. It takes a while for that turbidity plume to move into the intake. During that period we started to do some of the switching around of the system.”’ Water was diverted from the clearer Coquitlam Lake reservoir to serve more consumers and 10 per cent more chlorine was add- ed to the water as a safety precaution, Morse said. Meanwhile, North Shore con- sumers seeking clear store- bought water were out of luck as the rush for bottled water ex- hausted stocks at many local stores. Sales of bottled water were 70 times higher than normal over the weekend, said Barry Setter, the grocery manager of the Park and Tilford Save-On-Foods., “Pretty well every customer that comes in the door is looking for water,’’ said Setter. ‘‘We haven’t been able to keep enough in stock, although the last couple of days we have had stock.”” And while GVRD officials say NEWS photo Teny Peters CLOUDY WATER: the taps in North Shore homes are running with murky water after recent rainfall and snow melt washed silt into the water supply. The water is expected to return to its normal clarity by the end of the week if no rain falls in the meantime. Believe it or not, water is safe to drink local tap water is safe, they ac- knowledge that it does not com- ply with drinking water guidelines. The Seymour reservoir, which was the most turbid water source, exceeded the maximum recommended turbidity level by as much as eight times on Sun- day and exceeded the maximum recommended turbidity level by as much as 40 times. According to Canadian Drink- ing Water Guidelines, the amount of turbidity in drinking water should not exceed one nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU), a measurement of the refractive index of the water. A level of five NTUs is allowable if it can be demonstrated that the effect of disinfection has not been reduced by heightened tur- bidity. But on Nov. 25, the Seymour reservoir peaked at more than 40 NTUs, while Capilano reached levels above 30 NTUs. “Obviously these (levels) are out of compliance,’’ said Morse, adding, that the Canadian guidelines are ‘“‘the standards, and once you get out of those standards, clearly these are issues to deal with.”” The administration board of the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) is scheduled to meet today to consider the im- plementation of the Drinking Water Quality Improvement Plan. The board is being asked to approve the expenditure of $4.8 million for pilot filter studies and preliminary planning. Wedcnescay. November 28, 1990 ~ North Shore News - 3 Gadsby calls for election NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL AN UNSUCCESSFUL North Vancouver District. mayoral can- didate called at Monday night’s final meeting of the current district. council for the public disclosure of municipal campaign contributions. By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer Outgoing Ald. Joan Gadsby said that her campaign had ac- cepted no funds from anyone ‘‘with any ties’’ and that a ‘‘dec- laration of funds received by indi- vidual candidates should be look- ed at very, very carefully.” She suggested limiting both the arsount of individual campaign contributions and the amount spent on campaigns by the can- diciates. “} do believe that we may well see the demise of the independent candidate at the local level , and I think that is wrong. Behind the scenes party politics do exist and we just kid ourselves if (we say) they Jon’t,”’ she said. Gulsby added that, ‘In respect of sume of the announcements that eppeared in the paper, [ feel that it was most inappropriate for the existing mayor to endorse any candida:e.”’ She said she was also disap- pointed at the 29 per cent voter turnout in the district, and said that voter swareness had to ’ < in- creased. She pointed to the banners that West Vancouver employed to re- mind residents to vote, and she decried the fact that some of the district mail-outs that were also designed to raise voter awareness were delivered after advance polls had cfosed. Gadsby concluded by thanking staff and everyone who voted for her on Nov. 17, but not before revealing an unsavory incident that upset and frightened her after the polls closed on election day. “| was particularly appalled at a personal level,"’ she said, ‘‘when { got home from my election headquarters on Saturday night to find that there was barbecue sauce spread all over my front door, which looked like blood, and was also over a cross on a sign on my doorstep.”* Ald. Craig Clark, who was also unsuccessful in his bid for the mayor’s chair, said that he had not prepared a speech and that he just wanted to say thanks, “It’s been a fabulous seven years: exciting and rewarding in so | expense | disclosure NORTH Vancouver District Ald. Joan Gadsby ... party politics exist in municipal elections. many ways to meet and know so many people,’’ he said. ‘‘So I thank the district residents for that opportunity.”” “It’s been a phenomenal educa- tion,’’ concluded Clark and sug- gested that everyone should try it. Mayor Marilyn Baker, who will run for the Socreds in the new riding of Lonsdale in the next provincial election, thanked municipal staff and the ‘“‘unsung heroes’? who work as volunteers on committees. “Vd like to take this opportuni- ty to give a special thanks for the wpport and dedication that I have received over the past 13 years,’’ said Baker. ‘‘All members of this council have worked hard. You did what you thought was right. We all brought our brand of common sense. I think basically our community was well served, and well served by a broad spec- trum of people elected throughout the community.”’ Baker defined the challenge fac- ing the new council as the ability “to support and manage public involvement in an effective way."’ “What our process involves is representative government. You get your opportunity to have your input, but the final decision has to be made at this table,” said Baker. “The responsibility is to ensure that there is full input, but there should not be simply tallying up the votes of who happens to show up at a particular time and mak- ing your decision based on that, or taking every issue to a referen- dum.” Baker concluded by thanking Ciark and Gadsby for their ser- vice. “I know that it has been very time consuming. It is a contribu- tion that you have made to our community that will never be forgotten.” index @ Business .............. 66 North Shore Now...... 29 @ Classified Ads.......... so Dr. Ruth.............. 74 MComics ............... 77 Sports 2.0.0.0... 0.0008 13 GE Food................. 78 @TV Listings ........... 29 i Lifestyles.............. 73 Wi What's Going On ...... 61 Weather Wednesday and Thursday, rain. Highs near 10°C. Second Class Registration Number 3685