IMO its not in the CN Yard and it is not minor when its ten feet from the river we drink our water from.

Where's the caboose when you need one, eh?
By the way we do not get our drinking water from the river.

"while minor incidents like this morning's event do happen, they are rare"

huh ????? rare???? In my entire life in this city, which spans several decades, I really do not recall so much reporting of rail accidents, minor or not ....

are there more accidents, or are more of the normal level of accidents being recorded?

BTW, in the safety business, there is no such thing as a "minor" event. All need proper recording as "near misses" since they could have been "major". In other words, if there were several tanker cars attached, would someone have taken greater care? Not likely. Due to the greater mass of such a configuration, more than just the locomotive may have derailed.

Time to ask Feeney what steps they take after such an incident. Business as usual?????

I live on the river. I watched trains go by since I mover here in 1971. Since the CN takeover there are many more trains with problems going past my house. I swear they are twice as noisey and some must have square wheels the way the 'thump' along the tracks

The incidence of derailments recently are alarming. We still haven't heard from the crews on the trains. What are the causes of these derailments? Human error can play just as much of a role in these derailments. Will anyone step forward and say that they messed up at a switch? Or, the engine at the rear of the train was applying two much push?

It's easy to slam the employer, those capitalists?

Let's face it, every business is in business to provide a product or a service that someone else needs and is willing to pay for.

Oh, I would also like to mention, that is where 100% of the jobs come from. So, if you don't believe in providing some value in trade for a paycheck, you must be independantly wealthy and don't need to work.

It would be just great to quit slamming our employers. We don't necessarily agree with the way they do business sometimes, we do need them. Chester

Lefty, your talking the hypotenuse of the train, river, watershed. I'm talking the direct side if the triangle to the watershed below. <;-)

Sled dude, yes our water does come from the Nechako River watershed. The pumping station for the downtown is a few hundred yards down river from the derailment right next to the Camaron Street Bridge. The Pumping stations for the rest of town are further up river a few hundred meters at Wilkons Park along the River. All of the cities water comes from the aquifer along the river centered on that derailment that is replenished by the Nechako river. Had that been a carcinagen like the spill in Alberta we could very well be trucking in drinking water for 80,000 people.

IMO not a very minor incident.

See Chad.. Like I said, don't panic. The water comes from the aquafier under the river and not the river. Sorry to hear you don't know Dick about the city wells, and don't know the difference between a water pump, a well or how this aquafier evolved. Ho hum.

Since the City is just installing a new well which will remove water from the aquifer, the City web site has a good explanation for those who do not understand the relationship between a river and an aquifer which, in this case, happens to run underneath it ......

Remember, we have sands and gravels here, not clay or bedrock, between the surface river and the "underground river". The soil is not impervious. The surface water will eventually find its way to the aquifer. Waht impurities, if any, will be taken with it depends in part on the nature of the impurities and the nature of the filtering sands .....

So, to quote from the linked FAQ page ......

"Is there any risk of the Lower Nechako River Aquifer becoming depleted as a result of developing the Fishtrap Island Collector Well? "

"No, withdrawals of groundwater from the aquifer are replenished, almost instantaneously, by recharge from the Nechako River."

http://www.city.pg.bc.ca/city_services/infrastructure/fishtrap_island/faq.html

http://www.city.pg.bc.ca/city_services/infrastructure/fishtrap_island/open_house_nov20.pdf

Look at slide 16 for a section through the well at that location ....

Alos look at slide 31. When it speaks of "hydraulically separated from sources of potential contamination north of Nechako River" they are speaking about the garbage dump on Foothills .....

It also states that it eliminates reliance on PW607 which is vulnerable to contamination ........

then view slide 34 ....under the heading "MITIGATION MEASURES" - "Wellhead and Aquifer Protection"

"groundwater protection strategies and initiatives with CNR" .....

It is amazing how little some people know about the risks we face, isn't Chadermando ...

geology 101 .... ;-)

Any comments on this?
"The front page of the Citizen (Saturday, Dec. 19th, 2005) has a graphic picture of a CN engine derailed between the Cameron Street and John Hart Bridge. What isn't shown in the picture are the houses that are top of the bank. This residential area known as the Nechako Subdivision was the first CM&HC designed subdivision in the City (1950's).

I challenge City Council to take action on protecting this subdivision from CN intrustion. Over the years CN has conducted their switching operations under this subdivision and there have been "sleepless in Prince George" nights because of this.

I cannot think of another residential area in the City that has been impacted as much as the Nechako Subdivision . There has been little interest on the part of the City regarding the safety and protection from noise in this area. The attitude seems to be "if it is not happening to me, then it is not happening".

This is a beautiful area and it deserves the same attention as say St. Lawrence Heights. Could we please get some political will going to look after us."

Yours sincerely

Phyllis R Parker