Tom Says: “Is the cheque in the mail..?”
How come we can send a man to the moon and bring him back safely, we can build a space craft which can land on the surface of the planet Mars, internet on our computer that gives us information in seconds and yet I can’t get clean drinking water in my house?
A number of years ago, the Mayor and Council of the day in the Village of Renforth, (now Rothesay, NB) signed an agreement with the City of Saint John for the city to provide clean drinking water to a segment of our community. To this day, I can’t tell you what we pay each year, but I can tell you that I’m waiting for my latest refund. I think the initial agreement called for the city to provide this drinking water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Over the past little while there have been three substantial interruptions in that 24/7 agreement.
The ugly sign is up on the side of the road entering into my subdivision saying “Boil Water Order in Effect, Call town office at etc, etc…” The latest interruption began earlier this week and is expected to last until at least Friday at the earliest.
The rub in this whole thing is that you don’t mind paying for the water, (if it is drinkable) but since it isn’t — I would hope the accounts payable department at Saint John City Hall has discovered the names and addresses of those living outside the city who have been let down, and the cheque will soon be in the mail.
You often hear people boasting that Canada has the largest supply of fresh water in the world, and I’m sure that’s true. I’d just like to see the city discover some way of getting this water from their reservoir into our homes.
As many as 50-thousand people may be effected by this latest boil order.
Please, if you’re not going to live up to your agreement, a small refund would be greatly appreciated.
I’m Tom Young.