Whither Goes Our Sewage

I never heard back from the staff of James Bay Beacon and do not know if that newspaper printed the letter to the editor reproduced below.

Sunday, August 13, 2006
Dear editor of James Bay Beacon,
     On vacation last month I visited Victoria, BC, and saw a copy of the July – August 2006 James Bay Beacon.
     I read with interest the page 7 article "Whither Goes Our Sewage" by Doreen M. Gee. According to her article, "Every day, over 120 million litres of liquid waste is spewed into the ocean at both the Clover and Macauley Point outfalls. This effluent, containing many tons of fecal matter, is not treated or disinfected. .... A prevailing view ... is that the strong currents ... effectively dilute and disperse the effluent from the outfalls." The article discusses this and opposing opinions on the need for treating sewage before it is dumped in the ocean.
     Coincidentally, a Los Angeles relative recently emailed me about the special report "Altered Oceans" that appeared in five parts in the Los Angeles Times on consecutive days starting July 31. The online multimedia version of the report has a link at www.latimes.com.
     The report summarizes the evidence that contemporary civilization is messing up the oceans. Part 1, "A Primeval Tide of Toxins," says that toxic bacteria and toxic algae have taken over large areas of ocean, in ever more
frequent and widespread "dead zones" and plagues, killing coral, seaweed, mollusks, fish, and sea mammals
and seriously affecting human health and livelihoods.
     One of a number of factors that together are causing this "rise of slime" evolution in reverse is the massive worldwide dumping into the oceans of what are nutrients to bacteria and algae, including factory emissions,
farm and lawn fertilizers, and human sewage.
     So dumping even treated sewage in the ocean is not a good idea. Time for new, better ideas.
          Brian Leekley
          Moscow, Idaho