Bureaucratic overreach has struck again – this time in Otter Point, with the planned demolition of a small dam (looks like a berm) off Dalrae Place and Carpenter Road.
In May 2019, CRD Parks and Recreation began talking about what it says could be a “catastrophic failure” of the earthen berm. It’s been over three years, and even during the record-breaking November 2021 rain, the berm stayed strong. I’ve walked through the area a couple times a week for two decades and have never noticed anything dangerous.
Doesn’t matter. Work that will cost about $100,000 (of taxpayers’ money) is planned for late July and early August. So, heavy machinery and the destruction of trees and wildlife (herons, blackbirds, Canada geese, various ducks) habitat is scheduled.
Mike Hicks, Juan de Fuca’s regional director, told me he was opposed to the work.
But the province and CRD maintain the existing pond could take out Highway 14 if the decades-old berm was breached.
Meanwhile, people can rebuild or build homes and businesses on known flood plains, near riverbanks and where a tsunami would strike.
Makes me wonder how bureaucrats prioritize their work. Must be dam hard.
Shannon Moneo
Otter Point
editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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