Searching incoming e-mail for valuable information is often like looking for pearls. You have to dig through a lot of smelly clams to find the jewel that makes it all worthwhile.
Among the drek recently received by the Gazette reporters were a couple of real pearls. One disproves the myth that urinating in a well-chlorinated public pool is safe. Not so, said the press release. Urine mixed with chlorine can cause eye irritation and breathing difficulties. Further, a survey of 1,000 adults revealed a disturbing 17 per cent of them admitted to urinating in a public pool.
So much for those of us who squirmed at the recent report that astronauts had successfully tested a machine to purify liquid human waste into drinking water. It appears we do not need to venture beyond the stratosphere to test the theory – a visit to the local pool will accomplish the same thing quite nicely.
In all honesty, there are some things we are better off not knowing, and where water has been before it touches our lips, or any other parts of our bodies, is one of them.
All we really need to know is that Stratford is blessed with an ample supply of safe drinking water, as well as water for irrigation, industry and recreation.
We are also blessed with a council that cares about this precious resource and does whatever is necessary to protect it. The same cannot be said for every Canadian community. A recent story revealed a disturbing amount of our drinking water never makes it to our faucets because it leaks out of deteriorating underground pipes. Apparently, many cities tend to wait until pipes break to repair them instead of properly maintaining them.
A city's underground infrastructure is invisible, at least until something breaks and creates a huge mess. But ignoring the problem of leaky water pipes will not make it go away. All of this leads to the second, and much larger pearl – an e-mail announcing the approval of a number of infrastructure grants.
Our federal and provincial governments have made a wise choice in providing grant money to municipalities for use in upgrading and repairing aging water and sewer systems, as well as other  infrastructure. The list of recently approved projects under various programs is lengthy, and will make a real difference to our communities on many levels.
First, choosing municipalities as the vehicle for distributing economic stimulus funds virtually guarantees the dollars will be used. Second, the dollars will benefit local people.
Third, the work done will serve as an investment in the future. To judge how valuable a resource our water supply is, imagine offering a person the choice between a rare and precious pearl, and a glass of water. Now, imagine that person is dying of thirst.