Sewage. It’s not really a pretty word. It doesn’t conjure up a pretty image, either. The odour that accompanies it is particularly foul.
But we’ve got some similar words for how two local businesswomen were treated when they made complaints to the city about the pungent problem around their Lakeshore Drive shops.
Frankly, the way their concerns were brushed aside stinks.
Longtime residents of this community will all know about Salmon Arm’s sometimes odoriferous challenges. The sewage treatment plant located right on the lakeshore near the downtown (adjacent to the Churches Thrift Shop) sparked many a community grimace and resulting debate about the need to improve odour control measures as to not turn the stomachs of citizens and visitors alike. Millions of dollars were invested in improvements that seem to have helped, although not entirely.
At other times of the year, farm odours can prompt concern and there have been cases of improper farm practices contributing to a malodorous civic environment. In the recent case, even the city tried to unfairly pass the blame for the Lakeshore smell onto nearby agricultural operations.
Regardless, the way two women (and yes, we do wonder if gender had something to do with it) were dismissed by city workers is not acceptable. Only after months of complaints was the source of the odour investigated and discovered to be a serious, and disgusting, problem.
One can only hope next time something like this happens, the city takes immediate action instead of thinking its citizens are simply “smelling wolf.”