Atchison blows through a quarter-billion dollars on capital expenditures, ignores lead-tainted water

If the neighbourhood in which you live was built before 1949, you would be well advised to have your water tested for lead.

You see, Saskatoon has a lead-tainted water problem: A problem requiring the replacement of water pipes leading into no less than 6700 homes.

And with Mayor Atchison having found nearly a quarter of a billion dollars to blow in the city’s capital budget this year (compared to $68 million in 2003), it would seem there’s plenty of money to help citizens replace these toxic pipes.

Apparently not.

Instead, the city’s solution: Run your water at full blast for five minutes before taking a drink.

So while running water down the drain for five minutes for fear of lead poisoning, use that time to think about where Mayor Atchison’s quarter of a billion dollar capital budget went.

Because it didn’t go into sustaining key infrastructure in Saskatoon.