Investing in Warwick's ‘liquid' assets

To the editor: Orange County’s water resources are precious “liquid” assets, akin to investments in strategic minerals, blue chip stocks or mutual funds. They need to be set aside and safeguarded for use in emergencies or to enhance our lifestyle. We buy homeowners insurance, life insurance and long-term care insurance to guard against unexpected personal catastrophes. By the same token, shouldn’t communities “invest” in their watersheds, flood plains and wetlands to ensure against the irreversible contamination of their drinking water? Thus, a Community Preservation Fund makes good business sense to me and in the future may make our properties more habitable and more valuable. Pity that taxpayers and voters in many towns in our county have thought otherwise and today are faced with huge expenses in chemically decontaminating their once-valuable water resources. Face it, who wants to buy property and raise a family in a community that isn’t investing in the purity of its water assets? Richard W. Hull Warwick