Water water everywhere

Goings On LWV February 2010

Sunday I took a little walk down to a couple water deluged sights. One stop was CDS 8 where the water had been supplied to the manors via garden hoses. PCM got in there and scurried around fast to get things cleared up according to residents in that CDS. But it isn’t all completely clean.

Claire Webb’s article says “it is PCM’s policy to use hoses – potable water grade hoses- designed specifically for carrying water that residents might use for cooking or drinking.” I suspect that line came directly out of the mouth of some PR person in the PCM offices after the fact. The reality is that garden hoses were used not the hoses specifically designated. PCM’s policy is baloney. It’s a matter of public health and if PCM decides not to comply with good practice then they will be looking elsewhere for people to mismanage. OF COURSE it’s PCM’s “POLICY” to use potable water hosing. But the reality is far different.

I took several photos yesterday. One is of a hose that is white with a blue stripe indicating that it is for use with potable water. The problem is….this hose is attached to a soil and cement encrusted hand sprinkler. The other end was open and lying loose in the soil of the garden. Right next to the hose in the same garden was a large blue construction wheel barrow with a bucket in it and one lying nearby. The wheelbarrow had the same cement substance in it that the hose nozzle had on it. PCM is using potable water hosing for garden use. Now the questions raises its head…..when PCM complies with their own policy of using hoses for potable water are they even using clean hosing or are they just using all hosing as garden hosing and then re-using it for potable water when needed? Seems that way from the photo. That’s kind of like reusing a catheter without sterilizing it. Let’s see….Milt Johns is in his early 50s so he probably still has a little immunity. I wonder how he’ll feel when he’s in his mid 80s and doesn’t have the same kind of immune power. Potable water hosing should be destroyed after use in a situation such as we experienced in CDS 8… NOT converted to use for the garden.

Some smartie pants using the screen name cincity talks about George Lopez saying they all drink from hoses. Hey, I did too when I was a little kid, right after my horse. I’m not 12 anymore either. We once paid our cousin to lick the sole of her shoe for a quarter and she did. Does that make it something that SHOULD be done? No, it was a stupid kid trick.

My next question is WHERE WAS THE CRACK DISASTER RELIEF CREW? They all showed up at CH5 for the victims of the fire on Bahia Blanca. I guess they need a nice tidy, dry, warm club house in order to function. Oh, and I forgot, one certain United director who is a big wig on that committee is better at leaving a scene than actually attending to a problem immediately. The disaster preparedness committee had JUST COMPLETED a major disaster drill. Guess they were all tired. DO NOT DEPEND ON THIS GROUP TO HELP YOU IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. PERIOD. It is just another way for PCM to keep residents busy while they carry on as usual awarding themselves monster sized bonuses from our pockets.

One resident who is an avid RV (recreational vehicle) traveler had this to say, “We have quite a number of RV dealers from whom we could have purchased water grade "white" hoses, as most RV'ers are aware of. In addition, an emergency notice on our TV network could have obtained dozens of hoses from our RV's in the storage area at no cost to the mutual. RV'ers are used to helping each other out and the donation of a water grade hose by a small percentage of RV's stored in our lots would be done in a couple of hours." GRF and PCM would rather harass those people by inspecting the interior of their vehicles and requiring an annual inspection.

Where was Milt when this was all going on? At home in Santa Barbara as his facebook page says is his home? Where was Jerry Storage? Where was Gene Hart? Where were any of the PCM executive level people? WHERE WERE ANY SUPERVISORS CAPABLE OF MAKING AN APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY DECISION? Why did our neighbors have to endure a week of this. Now their water heaters are also filled with this potentially contaminated water. How are they going to be cleaned?

The United Board is dead silent except for one man. Congratulations again to the United Board. Maybe you ought to take another look at your ethics statement.