The media has bombarded the public for months about the impending drought and the possibility of a shortage of water for Calgarians later this year. The current long-term forecast is for more hot and dry weather.
Imagine my shock when I drove to Kananaskis last week to see the Barrier Lake reservoir and the Kananaskis lakes reservoirs with very little water behind the dams. Has our fear of possible floods made the people who control water flow so risk-adverse that they are deliberately keeping the reservoirs empty?
There is a huge amount of spring runoff currently flowing in the rivers as evidenced by the high Bow River flows. One would think that this is the ideal time to fill every reservoir. If we get to August and the media says we are short of water, then it is time to launch an inquiry.
Peter Chernik, Calgary
Gardens provide food for many struggling with costs
As the owner of Calgary’s Urban Farm School, I can attest to the fact that more people are interested in transforming their landscapes into productive ones, replacing resource-intensive lawns with vegetables and fruit trees and shrubs. They are wise to the ways of rainwater harvesting and deep mulching to reduce their use of municipal water, but since there’s only so much they can capture, they must still rely on city water to get their gardens through the summer.
These current blanket water restrictions are seriously affecting many who are already vulnerable, who are food-insecure, who rely on their gardens to provide nutritious food for their families and for processing and storing to augment their winter food supply. Can the city seriously not make a distinction between homeowners who water their lawns and those who need to use water to keep their gardens producing?
This seems like a ridiculous oversight, in my opinion, and one that hits vulnerable folks where it hurts most. There are many valuable conversations that need to happen around this issue, and I hope there’s someone at City Hall who cares enough to consider a more thoughtful protocol going forward.
Nothing to celebrate
The Calgary Stampede rodeo is over and that’s something to yahoo about. Four animal deaths this year brings the total to 109 since 1986. The deaths are not “accidental”, there’s a pattern especially when pushing animals to their limits under duress and in extreme heat.
There’s so much more the Stampede should focus on like our amazing Indigenous culture, the music events, art shows, thrilling side shows, midway rides.
It’s time for Calgary to step into the future and ditch the outdated rodeo. Will the city and Stampede board do it? Let’s hope so, but it’s hard to dig your head out of the sand when you’re wearing a 10-gallon hat.
Sue Sargent, Calgary
In defence of rodeo
I’m willing to bet that letter writer JoAnne McArthur has not been to the rodeo and talked to any of the competitors, or to the barns to talk with the cowboys about their sport. She’s asking that Calgary Stampede drop our animal events, not knowing that these cowboys are showing us the skills that have long been the mainstay of ranch life across the world. The competitors are from as far away as Brazil and Australia; this is not a “Calgary” thing.
Anyone is welcome in the barns and agriculture area, and you can ask about animal deaths and injuries on the ranch, as compared to those at the Stampede rodeo and chuckwagon races. You can ask about the care they receive and the rules of the sport that are meant to keep the animals as safe as possible. It’s fine to be concerned about the accidents at the Stampede, but you’d also need to be concerned about the deaths and injuries on ranches throughout the world.
Marilee Sharpe, Calgary