Well of Lies

This is the story of a system that failed utterly, at almost every level, and with fatal effect. People died, hundreds of others were made horribly sick, and for days, no one knew what was happening, or why. There were rumours about the water, but the Public Utilities Commission blandly assured callers that the water was okay. Which left investigators trying to figure out if the problem was tainted food – or something else.Colin Perkel was among the first reporters to visit Walkerton when word finally got out that the water was poisoned. Using the interviews he conducted and the testimony given to the Walkerton Inquiry, Perkel has pieced together an authoritative and riveting account of the tragedy. He tells the story from the point of view of the people who lived through it. He shows how the virtues of a small town – its closeness, loyalty, tradition, and sense of community – contributed to the disaster. He shows how two brothers, Stan and Frank Koebel, were...