The Faulder Experience
As a Faulder resident, I was fortunate to witness an interesting movement among my neighbours during the summer of the wildfires. I think it has similar themes to this issue.
As Kelowna was assaulted by fires and the trees around Faulder were as dry as anyone could remember, Summerland residents were informed that they were running out of water. Neighbours were suddenly watching out for those selfish beings around them who decided to water their lawns in the middle of the night. Washing one's car was a no-no, and paper plates were starting to look more and more appealing.
Odd it was that a town situated on a lake was dangerously close to running out of water. Not a week went by that the Summerland Review did not run a 'major' story on the looming water crisis. It was reported that pumping water from the lake was too expensive, so another "solution" was drafted - drill pumps at the rodeo grounds.
The call went out around Faulder that a meeting was urgently required, and all indications to me ( a new resident) were that our property values, and the very existance of Faulder, were at stake. At the hastily called meeting it was stated by a number of long-term residents that the aquifer that supplied Faulder with water was being tapped by Summerland at the rodeo site. Maps were drawn and more meeting dates established, all in the hopes that Faulder and Summerland could communicate and determine the size of the acquifer, how much water could be drawn from it, and a plan devised to make it a sustainable resource.
I did not attend the first meeting as I was out of town. At the second meeting there were, in my estimation, nearly 100 people in attendance. People were aggitated, motivated to take action, and a number of those in attendance were very informed as to Regional District mandates. The third meeting, a little later in the summer, saw perhaps 30 people in attendance. Since that time I have not been informed of any other meetings. I placed my name and email on a contact list, but to this day i have not heard from any of the organisers.
What happened? I think the answer is quite simple: it rained. That fall we had a fair bit of precipitation, the winter brought a heavy snow load, and the following summer was not nearly as dry.
I suppose I am writing this account as it was interesting to see a group so incredibly concerned and motivated, speaking about the very existance of their community being at stake, only to disipate as the weather changed.
Any discussion of communities at risk needs to have with it a mandate and specific goals. How do we keep 'regular citizens' involved and motivated when they are opposing people who have a lot of money to make. It seems to me that it will be difficult to match the corporate agenda with a community concern agenda - that is, if the Faulder experience, and my perceptoion of it, is any example.
Myron Dueck
As Kelowna was assaulted by fires and the trees around Faulder were as dry as anyone could remember, Summerland residents were informed that they were running out of water. Neighbours were suddenly watching out for those selfish beings around them who decided to water their lawns in the middle of the night. Washing one's car was a no-no, and paper plates were starting to look more and more appealing.
Odd it was that a town situated on a lake was dangerously close to running out of water. Not a week went by that the Summerland Review did not run a 'major' story on the looming water crisis. It was reported that pumping water from the lake was too expensive, so another "solution" was drafted - drill pumps at the rodeo grounds.
The call went out around Faulder that a meeting was urgently required, and all indications to me ( a new resident) were that our property values, and the very existance of Faulder, were at stake. At the hastily called meeting it was stated by a number of long-term residents that the aquifer that supplied Faulder with water was being tapped by Summerland at the rodeo site. Maps were drawn and more meeting dates established, all in the hopes that Faulder and Summerland could communicate and determine the size of the acquifer, how much water could be drawn from it, and a plan devised to make it a sustainable resource.
I did not attend the first meeting as I was out of town. At the second meeting there were, in my estimation, nearly 100 people in attendance. People were aggitated, motivated to take action, and a number of those in attendance were very informed as to Regional District mandates. The third meeting, a little later in the summer, saw perhaps 30 people in attendance. Since that time I have not been informed of any other meetings. I placed my name and email on a contact list, but to this day i have not heard from any of the organisers.
What happened? I think the answer is quite simple: it rained. That fall we had a fair bit of precipitation, the winter brought a heavy snow load, and the following summer was not nearly as dry.
I suppose I am writing this account as it was interesting to see a group so incredibly concerned and motivated, speaking about the very existance of their community being at stake, only to disipate as the weather changed.
Any discussion of communities at risk needs to have with it a mandate and specific goals. How do we keep 'regular citizens' involved and motivated when they are opposing people who have a lot of money to make. It seems to me that it will be difficult to match the corporate agenda with a community concern agenda - that is, if the Faulder experience, and my perceptoion of it, is any example.
Myron Dueck
posted by Myron |
Permanent Link
3 Comments:
Thanks for this account, Myron. You've exactly hit what I've been thinking about this week with this question in your conclusion: "How do we keep 'regular citizens' involved and motivated when they are opposing people who have a lot of money to make?"
This all hinges on motivation, doesn't it? I think of it in terms of a continuum ranging from most motivated to least motivated. Of course the developers and business owners are most motivated be involved because it's their investments at stake. Then there are the residents who get temporarily riled up over a specific issue that threatens them or their property directly -- they may be even more motivated, but their motivation lasts only as long as they're feeling threatened.
Over on the less motivated side are residents who may have a more altruistic interest in protecting and enhancing what they love about the entire community -- they tend to be motivated by the common good. At the least motivated end of the continuum you get everyone else who doesn't really feel like local politics has anything to do with them. They don't necessarily see personal threats or opportunities in the future development of the town, so they just go about their business.
I think this is one of the reasons why issues like the upcoming issue of the new golf course development are so polarized. Anyone with money to make is pushing hard, including local business owners who have something to gain from faster residential development. There may be a few people who feel directly threatened, and they will actively oppose the whole thing. The more altruistic residents who are concerned about the long-term success and beauty of the town might think that a sprawling golf and suburban development on a semi-arid gravel pit is really stupid, but it's miles out of town...out of sight, out of mind? The apathetic majority couldn't care less.
Water might be the deal-breaker yet, partly because it's something people actually do really care about. And if people in Summerland started to connect the idea that sprawling development will eventually raise their taxes, with no benefit to them personally, it might get them active. I guess we'll see.
By
Jeremy, at 1:17 p.m.
Water will most likely be the key issue in the end.
I read the book 'Water' by Marq de Villiers a few years ago. It received the 1999 Governor Generals Award. Certainly worth reading.
By
Myron, at 2:28 p.m.
Kudos to the ACS group for putting together such a treasure trove of information. This item, "The Faulder Experience", particularly caught my attention because my wife and I live in Faulder area, depend on our private well for our domestic water needs and played the major role in initiating the local movement on groundwater that Myron refers to. Although I admit that there is nowhere near the strong wind in our sails that our group once had, our core still exists and continues on as the "Faulder Area Residents Association" - meeting every month or so with 7 members on the Water Committee.
I look forward to attending the ACS meeting tonite and learning more about your group. How do you folks feel about being more clear on this website who the major players in the ACS are and who the people are posting comments - i.e. full names and addresses under the posts rather than links to profiles. Just a thot.
Over all nice effort though. Keep up the good work.
Jack Norie,
Faulder
By
Anonymous, at 7:28 a.m.
Post a Comment
<< Home