The rising waters flooding the low ground around the Dyke Road on November 16 reminded us of the story of the very religious man who got caught in flood waters.

When the rivers flowed over their banks and the waters started to rise, his neighbour came running over, knocked on the front door and said. “Come. Hurry. We’ve got to save ourselves. The man said “No. The Lord is going to save me.”

The waters continued to rise. The man climbed up on the banister of his porch. Another man came along in a canoe and said, “I’m here to save you. Hop in.” The man again said, “No. The Lord will save me.”

The waters still continued to rise. The man climbed onto his roof. A helicopter came by, lowed a rope and the pilot motioned to the man to tie the rope around his waist. The man shook his head and held up a sign that said, “No. The Lord Will save me.”

A short time later the man drowned. He got up to heaven and said to the Lord, “Lord I had faith in you. Why didn’t you save me.” The Lord said: “Well, I tried. I sent three guys to save you but you paid them no heed.”

For 18 months, local folks have tried to point out to the Comox Valley Regional
District Board that allowing a gas station on the Dyke road in an age of increased global warming was crazy. A spill, or a flood similar to this recent one, has the potential of spewing toxic substances into the estuary, the surrounding fields, and causing damage to surrounding homes and businesses. But the Regional District has paid them no heed.

Instead, the Regional District has responded to resident complaints by saying. “Trust us. We’ve checked everything out. We’ve done our due diligence. It will save us.”

But will it? Do they believe that self-contained storm water management system they approved on site will save us? We doubt it. The Dyke road has a long history of floods. Mr. Procter tells us his service station has a life expectancy of 30 years. Does the CVRD really believe that there will be no more serious floods over the next 30 year? We doubt this also, especially in this age of global warming.

The current floods demonstrate how dangerous this project is. The CVRD’s due-diligence argument won’t save us. Nor will the potential “act of god” defense they might one day try to pull out of a hat before a large group of enraged citizens. The citizens will say to the Board. “Didn’t you hear our complaints from 18 months of public meetings, petitions, and letters to the media? Why didn’t you listen to us and let our many warnings save you—and us the taxpayers—from this mess?”