Fraser the solution to water woes
Wally Martin says the region's water woes could be solved by simply taking water from the Fraser River.
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Updated: August 13, 2009 1:22 PM
Aldergrove is under Langley Township imposed water restrictions while 5,000 cubic metres of the precious resource flows in the nearby Fraser River as every second ticks by.
Longtime Township resident Wally Martin says the solution is "so glaringly obvious... that's a mind-boggling amount of water" that he took samples from the Fraser and paid to have it undergo comprehensive tests.
The test results from Exova confirmed Martin's belief that the answer is to pump, filter and treat Fraser water for Township residential use.
The test results showed that the water is soft, and has negligible amounts of the two minerals, nitrates and arsenic, which are frequently found in both private and Township wells in the Aldergrove area.
Canadian government drinking water standards allow for up to 10.0 micrograms of nitrates and 0.01 micrograms of arsenic, and Martins sample tested at 0.18 and 0.0014, respectively. That translates to less than two per cent of allowable limits for each mineral.
Martin took the water from the Fraser near Derby Reach on the weekend, and filtered it through sand and cotton gauze before bottling it.
Martin points out that "the best Township well by far" is located near the Fraser and Salmon River in Fort Langley. This well, built in the 1970s, is only 20 metres deep and is fed by the Fraser's water, filtered through the sand in the area.
Martin said he's provided Township mayor Rick Green with the test results, and is hoping that this will fuel a new impetus to resolve the water shortage in Aldergrove and the rest of the Township.
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