OPINION: Verner residents being gaslit on water problem

Municipality is downplaying and lying about the problem to avoid addressing it.

Gaslighting is defined as manipulating someone into questioning their own perception of reality. It’s often a tactic used by politicians and bureaucrats to avoid addressing important issues or fixing problems.

For Verner residents this has unfortunately become the norm. Last week, municipal council discussed the water problems in Verner for the second time in as many months but to little reassurance to the water consumers.

Verner has had a serious water discolouration problem since 2019. This was as a result of the phasing out of chlorine dioxide, which was previously used to remove manganese from the Veuve river. This problem appeared to be taken seriously by the previous council. Public meetings were held, water trucks were even brought in and residents were assured that a solution was imminently the works.

Back then, council had a plan in place that would see a new water line constructed, connecting Verner residents to the cleaner Sturgeon water source. A presentation at council in 2021 indicated that construction was to begin by 2023 and the line was to be “inservice” by 2024.

Back then, this problem was not downplayed by staff. It was acknowledged and real and never blamed on the residents themselves.

But welcome to 2024, where there is no shovel in the ground on the multi-year project to connect to a new water source. Where there isn’t even an agreement yet in place with the railway company to use the land to run a water line. Where council doesn’t even know how much this project will cost or have a budget for it.

So, in 2024 with absolutely no plans to fix the problem, the municipality has resorted to gaslighting it’s own residents.

Last month, the Director of Infrastructure, Elizabeth Henning repeated that the discolouration problem was no longer related to the municipal drinking water source. When pressed by councillor George Pharand, she stated that “the problem is not with the Municipal Water System but that there is likely build up in the resident’s hot water tanks or plumbing.”

Last week, the Manager of Water and Sewer, Peter Ming presented his findings from testing for manganese over the summer.

His statements were not as as absurd as the director’s, however his lies were just as serious. He acknowledged that many discolouration problems are likely as a result of dips in the water lines on certain streets (and not because of hot water tanks) but he assured council that the water leaving the plant was always aesthetically clean.

He said that when they measured the water leaving the plant and at the blowoff location (once it has passed through all of town), in both cases the tests were “well below the 20u/L objective.”

*20u/L is the aesthetic objective whereas discolouration will occur when levels are higher than 20.

The manager confidently told council and Verner residents this while presenting the chart below. As you can see, almost every test done leaving the plant during August showed manganese readings of over 20u/L, with some measuring twice the aesthetic limit. The blowoff readings for the entire summer averaged above 20u/L.

So how could the manager make the statement that the water leaving the plant and at the end of town are “well below 20u/L”?

Looking at these numbers, it’s a fact that EVERY home in Verner experienced some form of water discolouration during the month of August. Regardless if they physically saw it and regardless of how long they were to run the taps. Not everyone draws a bath every night. Some people have better washing machines or have already given up on washing whites. Also, many have simply given up on complaining…

The complainers…

I don’t use Verner water but I do rely heavily on a future thriving village of Verner. Many in West Nipissing do. That is why many non-affected are upset about this problem. But what upsets me most is the gaslighting.

And no one is experiencing this more than those who speak up. You can tell by watching the various meetings, that staff do not like the “complainers”. In what appears like a purposeful way to downplay their concerns, staff have often stated that “only 6 or 7 residents out of hundreds of users have complained”. In another instance they state that they have only received 20 complaints in four years.

The manager targeted the complainers in one vent last week, saying “a lot of complaints we receive are from people who leave for the weekend and they expect their water to be clear. But that’s not the reality of the water quality in Verner….”

First, the testing clearly shows that even when running the water, the manganese levels will be 20 (or even over 100) indefinitely on some days. Second, sorry Mr. Ming but the reality is people paying their water bill DO expect clean water when they turn on the tap to have a drink.

Last month, staff spent a whole meeting stating that these complainers were simply dealing with old water tanks or bad plumbing. Then the testing showed that they (and likely their untested neighbours) have a serious problem that THE CITY is responsible for. A problem that is likely reducing the lifespan of their appliances and certainly affecting their long-term health.

When the municipality published their agenda with the findings of their July/August testing, they posted the personal name, address and phone numbers of the 6 complaining households that they reluctantly agreed to test.

I reached out to these residents who were outraged that this level of personal information would be shared publicly for no apparent reason.

At Tuesday’s meeting, councillor Kris Rivard brought this concern up asking if it was appropriate to subject these households to this divulgence when they are just volunteering to help (by having their water tested). Staff seemed to downplay this concern saying they hadn’t noticed the personal information breach. The assumption was they would fix this personal information breach.

But four days later, staff have maintained these identifying personal details on their website. They have made no effort to rectify this breach.

Some would think that this is a subtle warning to discourage the annoying and inconvenient “complainers”... Sure, please file complaints, but we will publish your personal information publicly if you do…

When councillor Pharand proposed that the city host a public meeting to show that they understand the worries of Verner residents, the CAO stated that they could look at doing one next April. Seven months from now… Mayor Thorne-Rochon proposed using a grant to create a communication strategy or push notification system to better notify residents of water discolouration…

When discussing what the next steps should be to actually connect the Sturgeon water line, the best answer councillors had was to request more meetings with ministers at the various conferences they will attend next summer. Sturgeon councillor, Jamie Restoule opined that this issue is definitely “on their radar”. Sorry councillors, but this issue needs to be on something much more urgent that the radar.

There is no urgency to fix this problem. There isn’t even any political will. Councillors spoke of drumming up attention with our local MPP and MP. Sorry again. We are beyond “drumming up attention”. A search of news releases, social media and public communications of MP Marc Serré and MPP John Vanthof reveal absolutely no mention of this problem.

Council needs to summon these political counterparts to an urgent council meeting and receive commitments that they are doing all they can to get this project moving. They need to pass a motion officially making this problem urgent and forcing it as the number one new business item at EVERY SINGLE MEETING.

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