Hartford Business Journal

www.CtGreenGuide.com Summer 2014 • Connecticut Green Guide 29 ADVOCATE CORNER Water Must Be Protected Connecticut needs long-term planning for its economy and environment By Margaret Miner W ater is our state's greatest natural resource, essential to life and economic health. But, since it falls from the sky at no charge, we don't worry about taking care of it, thinking more will come. At 49 inches of precipitation per year, we are one of the wetter states. We tend to build where we wish and worry about water (and wastewater) later. Since the 1960s, Connecticut has passed dozens of laws aimed at improving water protection. However, only the earliest law in this sequence, dating to 1969, called for com- prehensive planning, and that law was gradually forgotten. We tolerate practices contaminating our water. We cre- ate brownfields. We dry up wetlands and headwaters. We pollute streams. We divert and dam rivers. Attempts to limit misuse of water are decried as job-killing impediments. One prominent business slogan in response to Con- necticut's efforts to preserve streamflows is, "The fish aren't dying, businesses are dying." Well, the fish are dy- ing, and so are salamanders and frogs and turtles and the birds that feed on them. The modern extinction rate for North American freshwater fish is conservatively estimated to be 877 times greater than the historic rate, with as many as 86 species gone by 2050, according to U.S. Geological Survey scientist Noel Burkhed. When species are dying around us, that is not a good sign for our health or our economy. In Connecticut, environmental advocates and water utility leaders have generally worked well together on the Connecticut Water Planning Council, but it has become increasingly apparent that goodwill alone is not up to the task. We need a state mandate. The problems we must overcome include fragmenta- tion of water authorities in at least four agencies. Land- use and water planning is inconsistent. There is little consideration of water supply and disposal. Neither state nor local government has resources to deal with contam- ination. Protection for aquifers is pitifully weak. Rules are inconsistent and wobbly. Towns, utilities, and state agen- cies fight over who will supply what water where. This year, we may start to get serious. Democratic State Rep. John Hampton from Simsbury (on the Farmington River) and State Rep. Mary Mushinsky (D- Wallingford) sparked a legislative initiative to mandate a statewide water planning. On Feb. 3, for the first time, Gov. Dannel Malloy pledged to support creation of a state water resources plan. This will be, he promised, a plan not just for supply but for all water resources. "If we want to enjoy healthy, clean drinking water for decades to come, we must start planning today," Malloy said. "Together, we must be stewards of our economic and environmental future and preserve our water abundance." We should be good planners and stewards. We can be. But will we? Margaret Miner is executive director of Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. The Experts

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