December 16, 2013
Dear Editor:
It may very well be that Crystal Geyser in Mt. Shasta will be
the best thing that’s happened since Swiss Cheese. There are similarities between the two
products. Both are sold to us with holes
in them. We tend to like the holes in Swiss
Cheese. However, the holes in the story that
Crystal Geyser is trying to sell us are troubling.
Look at what we are promised by Crystal Geyser when they
join us in our Mt. Shasta home. We’ve
been told by Siskiyou Economic Development Council executive director, Tonya
Dowse that the facility will provide 60 to 65 jobs. However, estimates of wages could not be made. Will
these be living wages? Or will the top
jobs be filled by relocating experienced Crystal Geyser workers from the
Calistoga plant? Think of it. These jobs
are the only benefit the people of Mt. Shasta can expect.
What will we give in exchange? We will be giving away our water. How ironic this is considering that many Siskiyou
County citizens are pushing to secede from California over the issue of “sending
our water south.” Why then should it not
be equally troubling to allow our water to be given over to a corporation based
in Japan? And there is more. How
will Crystal Geyser’s pumping water affect our local wells, our water supply? Questions need to be answered concerning the
1,000,000 gallons or more of water that will be pumped daily when the plant becomes
fully operational. Will Crystal Geyser reduce
or cease pumping in the event that our home wells adjacent to the plant foul or
run dry. What about drought? Will water shortages affect our property
values? We need to ask these questions
and fill in the holes before we give away Mt. Shasta.
Dr. Stephen R. Concklin
