Editor’s note: This commentary is by Barry Lampke, who is project manager of Voices for the Lake (VFL), a faith and environmental stewardship partnership between ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain and All Souls Interfaith Gathering. VFL serves as the backbone organization for the Vermont Clean Water Network.
In 2005, author David Foster Wallace recounted the following tale at his Kenyon College commencement address: There are two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and says, “What’s water?”
Water is the most familiar and important substance in our lives. A 150-pound man’s body contains 11 gallons of water. Water creates weather and shapes the landscape. It helps generate power and manufacture goods. We depend on water for drinking, swimming and growing food. Yet many of us do not understand the value of water unless it is contaminated or our supply is interrupted.
Last month for the first time ever, the governor of Florida enacted a state of emergency in four counties where toxic algae blooms from phosphorus runoff are carpeting parts of its Atlantic coastline.
We depend on water for drinking, swimming and growing food. Yet many of us do not understand the value of water unless it is contaminated or our supply is interrupted.
In Vermont, the residents of St. Albans Bay and Missisquoi Bay face this same challenge each summer, when the algae’s yearly appearance spoils people’s vacations, alters critical ecosystems and harms the region’s economy. Burlington beaches have been closed multiple times this summer due to the algae, which can sicken swimmers and pets.
These are isolated incidents, you may say, in a state that values our natural resources — a state where visitors spend nearly $2.5 billion each year. Indeed, Vermont is “water rich,” and does not face the same challenges as Las Vegas or Bakersfield, California. But the algae blooms and contamination of our water from runoff are a harbinger of things to come. These challenges demand a fundamental shift in the way we view our relationship with water — we must create a culture of clean water.
In January more than 65 organizations committed to doing just that, building on the recently enacted Vermont Clean Water Act, to articulate the value of clean water, understand the threats, and undertake projects to take action now. The Vermont Clean Water Network has begun aligning our work and planning ahead to embed a clean water ethic in our communities, K-16 education, business decisions, and local and regional land use planning.
We will also work together to see that the state devotes sufficient funds to ensure our water is drinkable, swimmable and fishable. Next January in the coming legislative session, lawmakers will review and debate proposals to replace the Vermont Clean Water Act funding source that expires in July 2018.
Everyone plays a role in this culture of clean water — at home, work and in our communities. Learn about where your water comes from and goes. Plant a rain garden to absorb and filter stormwater, preventing soil and pollutants from washing directly into streams, rivers and lakes. Ask local officials how your community handles stormwater. And encourage businesses to invest in solutions that ensure our water is clean, and our communities and economy are strong.
In his 2011 book “The Big Thirst,” author Charles Fishman predicts “We are on the verge of a second modern water revolution — and it is likely to change our attitudes at least as much as the one a hundred years ago.” Characterizing it as “an essential collaborator and untamable force,” he makes the case for re-examining and strengthening our relationship with water. To learn more about the Vermonters leading that effort, visit www.vtcleanwaternetwork.org.
