Dear Editor:
My wife, two young children and I had the absolute pleasure of spending the Thanksgiving long weekend in Invermere. We hail from Turner Valley, Alberta. I realize many of your visitors are from the Calgary area and we represent a substantial impact to your communitys economy. Rightly so, it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
Our stay for the most part was incredible, with great people and an inviting atmosphere. I will continue to visit your location in the future. However, I have noticed a putrid, vegetative smell coming from your tap water! I was tempted to boil the water and put iodine in it to make sure it was safe to drink!
I was told that the water is safe, but with the formaldehyde and rotten egg smell, it is hard to be confident when drinking it. I have memories of 12 years ago in the Walkerton, Ontario area where people died and thousands fell ill from contaminated water. I would not want to see something of this scope fall on the Valley area.
I took a drive up to the water reservoir where Invermeres water is drawn from, and even if I were a fish, I would not go there. The weeds and suspicious floating film on the water appeared as if it belonged in a Stephen King book.
I can only hope that the town and area finds some time and funding to get a handle on this. I would love to retire in this area, but I would need to see some action take place first!
Matt Carpenter,
Turner Valley, Alberta
