Community Preservation act will make sure Warwick's glass of water is more than half filled

To the editor: For generations Warwick residents have taken their drinking water for granted. It was pure, cheap and always there. We considered it almost a birthright and surely a human right. We felt so secure about our water’s safety that demand for bottled water was almost nil. No longer. Today, ShopRite offers 18 brands, imported from as far as the Fiji Isles and Italy. If you follow doctor’s orders for daily water consumption, bottled water could cost a family of four up to $1,200 annually. How have we reached this unsettling state of water insecurity? We only need to look to neighboring communities to see vital watersheds and aquifers contaminated. Must we share the same fate? Every community must act now to purchase the development rights of lands that lie over their water resources. This November, Warwick residents must vote “yes” for the Community Preservation Act. It may be our only chance to save our drinking, cooking, laundry and bathing water before it is lost forever. After contamination, purification can be terribly burdensome to taxpayers and indeed may be impossible to achieve. Saving open space means preserving the health of ours and future generations. Richard W. Hull Warwick