Guest Commentary

Editor’s note: Jack Peasley contacted Doug Griffiths, MBA with Kelly Clemmer, the author of “13 Ways to Kill Your Community” published by Friesen Press, who graciously gave permission to reprint in the East Washingtonian, the first chapter of his book. What follows is part three of five of Chapter 1, Forget the Water.

CHAPTER 1

FORGET THE WATER continued

Many of us have experienced water shortages for short or seasonal periods during times of drought. We are all aware of the dangerous situation of a prolonged drought as experienced in California. It can be frustrating when we cannot water our lawns or wash out cars when we want to, but it can he frightening when we become aware there might not be enough water to produce basic electricity, or even enough to drink. Many of us are well aware of how there will be increased competition for water use between those who produce our food, those who produce our energy, and those who produce our goods. Battles over water between industries, between communities, between regions and between nations are on the rise.

Food is critical to our very survival, but food doesn’t grow if we don’t have water. Every farmer knows how important it is to take good care of the soil. They can pick the best seeds, put them at the right depth, put on the right fertilizers, spray the right chemicals to control weeds and pests and still, if there is no water from rain or irrigation, you know what farmers get––nothing. And neither will you. Value added agriculture requires vast amounts of water. Manufacturing and industrial activities require water. Tourism initiatives are more successful near water. Everything needs water. In fact, there are many com munities around North America that cannot grow larger because there isn’t enough water to support growth. People want to buy a plot, build a house, work and volunteer, spend money and raise their families in a community, but they can’t because there is not enough water to supply new homes. The problem in many cases is not a shortage of water. The problem is a shortage of water management. Our policies very rarely encourage grey water technologies or encourage conservation, yet our future access to sufficient water supplies will depend on such policies being put in place now.

In many places the water resources we have available are becoming taxed or maxed. I don’t mean the water now has a tax on it, though that may occur someday in some jurisdictions. What I mean is traditional water sources around North America are either beginning to fall under serious strain (taxed) or else they are utilized to their full potential now and can’t give another drop (maxed). This situation makes for urgent quantity of water concerns our communities must address sooner rather than later. In some places within North America, such issues are pairing up with the inability of communities to find qualified people to ensure quality control measures are in place for their local water supply. This is leading to investments in regional water systems of varying sizes. Such systems provide a higher level of water quality security, but also make possible the implementation of water-management measures that address quantity and use issues. In the long run forward-looking communities are recognizing such secured access can help enable their community’s long-term success and viability.

In a particular community that seemed determined to guarantee its failure the residents worked very hard to fight any and all attempts to link into a regional water system that would give access to large volumes of quality water. Almost a decade earlier the community had realized its water capacity was in jeopardy. It drilled two new wells to supply the community with water but found those wells did not produce the volumes they would need in the future and did not have the quality required by law. Of course, they could treat the water, but given the growing age and limited capacity of their water treatment facility, that would require a massive investment in the near future. Their current wells were experiencing reduced capacity. They needed to do something soon. It was fortunate a regional water system was being built that would go right by the community. They were invited to tie into the system if they wanted. It would mean huge supplies of quality water, with no more requirements to hire trained and qualified staff to manage the local water-treatment facility, and no required investment in a new facility. Of course, tying into the line meant all water use, every house and building, would have a meter and have to pay for its water use. Besides the initial infrastructure investment required by the community, metering and billing was how the system and the water would be paid for.

You might expect the solution to such a series of challenges would be obvious, or at least if the solution wasn’t obvious then the fact something needed to be done would be apparent––but not to this community. There arose three different factions. One faction wanted to tie into the regional water line as part of a long-term solution to the community’s problems. A second faction hated the neighboring communities and wanted to remain independent, so they were determined to build a very expensive water treatment facility and to continue to hire local people to manage the water quality issues. The third faction wanted neither option, and thought doing nothing was the best plan. The third faction became the loudest and the angriest of the voices. It is important to mention there was actually a fourth group in this three-way debate. They were and always are the largest group, but they aren’t a faction. They are the general, and generally disinterested, public at large. For the most part they aren’t engaged in the details of the discussion and are simply busy with running their businesses or jobs, coaching soccer or hockey, volunteering at the school or for community organizations, and putting away the chairs at church. They typically don’t get very engaged, though they are the most impacted by the results of the debate.

Griffiths is the Founder and CEO of 13 Ways Inc, a consulting firm based in Alberta, Canada. For more information visit http://www.13ways.ca