“Although water is not a living thing by virtue of various definitions, it can be considered ‘life giving’, and therefore should be the most transparent thing we possess. It is a gift from Mother Nature, and as a society, we are exploiting it. My husband and I were so saddened when we heard about the Flint, Michigan crisis. I found myself asking, ‘How can this happen?’ over and over again. It doesn’t make sense to me. Our spring goes through rigid testing on a regular basis. As owners of a spring, we are required to immediately report any problems to all the regulatory agencies. We’d be required to make a public announcement immediately, taking out an ad in the local newspaper among other requirements. There would be no ‘sweeping it under the rug’ so to say. So I cannot understand why our government and other big corporations are not held to these same standards.

There needs to be more oversight and transparency of our water supplies. If someone did not have the foresight to protect and preserve the beautiful spring we own back in the 1800s, it would be run over from corporate greed. We are trying to hold on to a business that should be revered and held as a sanctimonious place. Instead, the big box water companies have treated water as a commodity and put it in a cheap plastic bottle that is probably ruining the water they are putting in it. (Notice, I did not say spring water. It is more common to find municipal ‘tap’ water actually filling the bottles you buy at the supermarket.)

These recent crises should be a wake up call. There is a real need to research our water supply and protect it. It is the best gift we have, and without it, we simply cannot live.”

Christine Bertarelli, co-owner Simpson Spring, Easton, MA, SimpsonSpring.com.