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l every Wednesday by the Fairway L-Ioup. owned try (LllyMrdu Group loc , A subsidiary of Torstar t urp The content of this paper Is protected by copyngbl and may hr used only for personal nun command] purposes All ulna nghls are reserved and commercial use Is pmhlbued To make nae of this mammal you must first obtam the permission of the [ uwuer uf the copynghl editoriaWwaterioochrorticleia sports6owatedoocttromcle.ca sales4Pwatedoochroritcle.ca composingewatertoochronicltrca the Waterloo Chrontcle n publuhed WATERLOO CHRONICLE 279 Webet Si. North, Suite 20 Waterloo. Ontario Nel 3!!!! The views of our columnists are their own and do not "ecessarity mpresem those ofthe newspaper Phone 8862830 Fax: 886 S383 www.m‘zm Group Pulpllshu Group Sales Director) hand!!! mlihnr I Fr,," I otrmghr In lumen and mhr-r mateoals submitted In the Puhlnhm and at 1 prM for pllhlll alum remains with the anth hut the puNrsher and m In mum-w mm M mpmdm r them m pun! Mn "nun mum" lnrm\ um mailing address m .'79 Wrmrr 'tt x Ilnu NI waterirso VII "v (Mun Pubucatioas Mad Sales Prud un ween-rm Number 40050478 mtemarronal titamian1 Sula] Number ISSN 08323410 Mn; Sahel. Min-mung En. 22 Sula at 228 . Letters Policy The Wau’rlm ' 2tmtncle wrlmm Wm m the him" They should he “an"! wath name, addtrss and phone number and will he wnfwd 9m Huh Irllsl hurl Andrea Bailey Bob Vrhanac Ballot. Eat, 215 Sports Editor, an 22) mCtaIrBCT No HHSIW lawn wall He puhluluxl strbmtstrtns mav hr eeitteri for length as please hebrief www waterioochrontcleta 1vnn Banal Gerry Malnre Bob lanvrh 955.3 =.r, Audi ted tarrulation 27 S38 I In .um' “mama-m Norma l .yta Matt Miller Bill Wham local resident Mindy Decker raised the alarm for us initially when her home-based business ran into continuous water quality issues causing almost $5,000 damage to the textiles she uses to make a liv- mg. Tired of constantly get- ting different explanations for the iron build-up in her water that left stains on material she was shipping lo the Irs., she finally made a claim against the City of Waterloo. It's a claim city officials themselves encouraged. and is sup- ported by a policy on dis- coloured water posted on the city's Web site for those seeking redress. th all the snow on the ground, it might be Waugh to convince some that water is becoming a critical issue forWaterloo. But a bad back from shovelling all that white stuff doesn't compare to the blizzard of concerns raised by some local residents worried about one of our most precious resources. To-say that Waterloo is blessed with a safe, reli- able and clean water source would be an under- statement. The question is, will it always remain that way? A 0388 ttt nature VBI‘SIIS Itttrtttrtt But when the citv's insurers got a look at the BOB claim. they denied it. The VRBANAC municipal insurance pool the city belongs to even went as far as to suggest they weren't responsible for the water. If the city isn't responsible, who is? . Sure the city controls the water distribution sys- tem. and the water itself is supplied by the Region of Waterloo. Between them, somebody should have some answers. Well surprisingly. they don't. The city is in the middle of a $9.82»'nillion sewer relining problem that is supposed tr help clear up some of the discoloured water prom-m in the hard- hit Wtllowdale area in the centre of the city Couldvit be a combination of iron already in the water reacting with the chlorine causing the dis- colouration? Or is there some other source? And while it's reduced some of that discoloura- tion, the problem continues, leaving city officials scratching their heady - - A - In the meantime. the Chronicle has had many numerous calls about discoloured water. and it doesn't seem to be localized to one area of the city lt seems more than one neighbourhood is having the same problem. In light of those problems. the Citizens for the Protection for the Waterloo Moraine (CPWM) are also gearing up for their upcoming battle with the city and local developers over plans for the west side of the city. They're particularly concerned because most of this development is on or around the Waterloo Moraine, which supplies 80 pencem of the area's groundwater. While the relining project continues. city water officials are looking to further study the problem. 7 Instead of guarding this natural resource. there is more and more pressure to build on it. The problem. of course. is that despite some of the assertions made in the environmental testing done by the city and the developers, the long-term effects on local groundwater may not be known for years. But there is one thing that nobody can dispute -e nalure does a murh better job than man in Produc- ing and supplying this essential element to life. And once it's gone, it can "Pver he replaced So doepilr- their aswrtinnsjthc’ dcvelopers can neither rnmmvnl on what damaging the unique hilly topography of thr arm has donr In this water Continued on page I t VIEWPOINT The weather is right on course. It's been miserable. miserable. miserable. And along about this time of year. you get wondering whether God ever intended any- body to live here in winter. Can you imagine being out and about in a native's tuxedo when the temperature is minus-IO below? Even a spare collar wouldn't keep your Adam's apple warm, for you: _ Bluer Lines: If there's anything unhap- pier than the pro hockey mess, it'd be hard to imagine what it could be. The players -ee too highly paid by most folks' estimate __ are content to wait against all odds that the owners will __ yield a bit. So weUhiver and treiv.e for a good chunk of the year. Bui, as I've noted before, it's as if the weather this year has been more unusual than the usual weather. Thd muscle-bound clot of owners keeps saying no. no, no to the players. while offer- ing nothing in the way pf iTProverptent. Both have been in the wrong for years. The players have got more than they have deserved. The owners paid it well, know, ing there was a day of reckoning coming. Similarly; the big brass are holding hopes that are just as faint. That's a faint hope. It doesnt look as if theywill. And so both sides have been doing the only thing appropri- ate. They're sitting more or less silent. It's not that any of us would 'h-tam- be attending the games, It's now too costly to do that. Poll Vault: It's hilarious to see our legis- lators setting the tax rates. They wem to dif- fer about this and that before they settle on a rate upon whirh a majority ofthem agree About the only way to get in is to try GUI for the team. Of course. if you're too old, you're too old. - V It would be the same old tragedy: So many of us had the ambition. hut so few of us we? gjvep the ability. A They make it sound as if it was the most Imuhling job in the wodd, Actually, produn tion Can n'prt‘wm the most difrwult job in the world. Anyone have a collar to spare? ll strikes mm) wow “mo they shave SANDY Root and Toot: There seem to be fewer strikes and other kinds of industrial whatnot than in most years. Some yeais. you'll recall. it seemed there were mt?re strikettltan, you could count. But that would be Because some leaders had that commendable quality in ourselves that we would call bullheadedness in others. The Conservative folks were in the midst ofdrinking it up and blowing the bankroll. Can yéu irhagine Canada doing the same? U.S. troops are getting killed by the platoon in Iraq, bu) yet they celebrate. It's impossible to imagine Canadians doing the same thing mid-war. It just wouldn't be done. We would keep fighting. but be darned if we would celebrate any- thing in the middle of it. Crimson Jubilee: Washington was in mid-blast of the jubilee which is supposed to welcome Dubyah to the job, and he was in full voice. _ It must be $1 jolt to wivés and parents of lads slaughtered on the battlefield. DY We'll see if Dubyah is silly m enoggh to get embarked on ano twat. Ah yes, het confident. And confidence is what you feel before you understand the case. School Daze: We who are older can recall when school days were never inter- rupted by feuds, fusses and arguments of any kind. hhese days just about every copy of the daily newspaper carries another report on the latest battle. The board is swift to battle. and the gov ornmenl is swifter to oppose. Ah yes, telling Ontario's young children that school days arr the hest days of their lives mm doesn't give them much to look forward In Iran Again: And just in case you thought the news doesn't repeat itself. Washington insid- ers are talking about erasing Iran again. You'll recall when the battle against Iraq was thought to be won and Bush was talking about going after Iran next. He didn't because Iraq kicked up a lot more trouble That's the way we are, and thank heavens for that. “WINE 0510mm WHEEL