04/19/2005: "Weapons of Mass Pollution"

I had the bucket so full of oysters I could barely carry it. I trudged up the beach towards the kitchen where Grandma was busy cooking. My 8-year-old face was beaming with pride as I proudly presented my catch of the day.

"Go put those back on the beach. We don¹t eat oysters unless there is an "R" in the month". Said grandma.

I couldn't even spell September but I guess we had to wait until summer was over before we could eat the oysters that grew so thick on the beach. I asked my dad why?

"You see all those boats anchored around the bay all summer?"

Our bay was filled up with yachts and boaters from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

"Where do you think those people go to the bathroom?"

Now I understood. They pump their toilets into the bay all summer. Oysters are full of it. That's why we can't eat them. (Since then I have learned other reasons also)

This did not seem fair to me then. But technology and times have changed. There is no excuse for pumping raw sewage into the water today is there? But it is happening now on a scale that seems unimaginable to me now. It is still not fair.

It is coming from our neighbors in Victoria, B.C. They pump about 34 billion litres of raw sewage into local waters each year and have no plan to change this practice. The sewage is a weapon of mass pollution. The end of the sewer pipe is like the barrel of a gun pointed right at us.

I have been an avid salt-water fisherman all my life. I have watched the local catch dwindle and fall off rapidly in the last 10 years. The big bait-balls and squawking fracas of sea birds we used to see regularly are now rare. The life is being drained out of the waters that I see every day. I look directly to Victoria. Is all this sewage to blame for my declining luck at fishing? I know one thing for certain from my oyster picking days. Sewage in the water is not helping the situation. It can not be good for the ecosystem of these waters.

Next time you are on a sunny sandy beach in the San Juans take a look at the extreme high tide line. The flotsam contains all kinds of disgusting plastic items. There are tampon applicators, used condoms, and larger household flushables. The water contains all kinds of contaminants from untreated sewage.

Representatives from Victoria have come to Friday Harbor several times to answer questions about the sewage dumping. Each time they do a tap dance routine to the tune of "Our sewer doesn't stink". I don't think we can afford to believe that anymore.

San Juan County stands in the crossfire of pollution. It is not just Victoria that pumps raw sewage into the Islands. Vancouver also has weapons of mass pollution. Tremendous volumes of inadequately treated sewage dumps into Georgia Strait. While two of the Greater Vancouver area's large treatment plants have been upgraded to secondary treatment, there are no plans to convert the other two plants until at least 2030. In addition to the under-treated sewage from these plants, these combined sewage outfalls discharge about 22 billion litres of raw sewage into the Strait each year.

This is not the first time that the stage has been set for war in the Islands. Who can forget the "Pig War" from 1859-1872? It was started by something far less than a neighbor dumping mass quantities of poop on us. I¹m not in favor of war unless diplomacy and sanctions fail.

I think we need to take this to the State level to get attention focused on this international problem. Then we should take it to the United Nations. The threat of direct military action should not be taken off the table. But seriously, where are our priorities? We were not sure about weapons of mass destruction. In this case, the evidence for the existence of weapons mass pollution is incontestable.