NVD hal A CONTINGENT of approximately 50 angry Deep Cove mothers and their children picketed North Vancouver District hall Thursday afternoon to vent their collective ex- asperation ai what they say is the lack of district action in |i: controliing the pollution that has again closed Panorama Beach to public swimming. Cheryl Short, a mother of two, who has lived in the Deep Cove area for the past 14 years, said res- idents are just not satisfied with the district’s response to the Panorama Beach situation. ‘We want something done,” she said. ‘“‘Build us a seapocl. No more houses. No more people. No more development until we clean up what the problem is here." But North Vancouver District Mayor Marilyn Baker, who later met with the protesters in council chambers, said the pollution prob- lem in Deep Cove will not be resolved through picketing the municipal hall, and vehemently denied accusations that the district was not doing all it could to find a solution. “I don’t think there is anyone more frustrated than | am about this,’ she said. ‘We are all look- ing for a solution. To say nothing is being done is simply wrong." Panorama was closed June 16 after fecal coliform counts hit 281 units per 100 millilitres of waiter. That total has since risen to 492 and dropped back to 289, accord- ing to the latest available test results released Tliursday. Greater Vancouver Regional By TIMOTHY RENSHAW Ne Reporter wait until July 10 to respond to the delegation showed a lack of determination in solving the prob- lem. But council response to delega- tions is traditionally reserved until the following council meeting, which, because or the Canada Day long weekend, wilt be July tu. And Baker said additional in- formation on such factors as the history of Panorama Beach pollu- tion prior to 1985 will be available, along with comparative coliform pollution levels of creeks in other urban areas of the district. Baker said the district is also seeking information from the pro- vincial goverr rm :nt on the existing Mount Seymour resort sewage system, which residents in the district's Woodlands area suspect is polluting their creeks. In addition, the district will in- vestigate the need for increased beach monitoring and ° possible contamination from raw sewage sources on the other side of Indian Arm, A subsequent July 12 meeting RATEPAYERS SLAM COUNCIL OVER LACK OF WATER: 3 District beaches are considered un- safe for swimming when coliform counts exceed 200. Last year the beach was closed to public swimming for 47 days in a row because of high coliform counts. It was also closed in 1985 and 1986 for the same reason. Baker said the history of high coliform counts in Deep Cove goes back to at least 1976. Thursday’s protest follows a Deep Cove Community Associa- tion delegation to district council Monday night that demanded ac- tion on Panorama Beach pollution and questioned the integrity of the recent council-commissioned study into the problem. The study, which concluded that urban runoff from the many creeks that flow into Deep Cove and sewage from boats were the prime sources for chronic coliform pollution of the harbor, was called superficial by delegation members. Short said council’s decision to involving district and health of- ficials, consultants and area resi- dents has also been scheduled. “This is not new,’* Baker said. “It’s a long-standing probiem and extremely frustrating.”’ Bill Kimmett, the North Shore’s chief public health inspector, said there is no single solution to the pollution problem in Deep Cove. The harbor, he said, is poorly flushed, and the various sources already identified add up to a con- tinuing and collective pollution problem. Kimmett said he doubted whether, beyond building a seapool at Panorama Beact., there is any way of providing an area in Deep Cove harbor that will be immune to public swimming closures. Baker told the protesters that everyone was contributing to the pollution problem in Deep Cove “so we all have to work together to solve it.”” June 30, 1939 News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337 84 pages 25¢ MAYOR CLAIMS SOLUTIONS TO BEACH CLOSURE BEING SOUGHT D. Cove mothers picket lution ay over pol