CLEAN DRINKING WATER

Growing up in Charlottetown during the 1940s, 50s and 60s, I took for granted clean tap water would always be there. In the 1970s, I became educated about the importance of P.E.I.’s ground water supply.

Thirty years ago while serving on a city committee, I learned our city water came from ‘wells’ around the Winter River area. Realizing our ground water supply situation and how negative aspects could affect it, I expressed my thoughts to the Water representative on keeping our water wells safe from harm – whatever the cost. Clean drinking water gone – Charlottetown would suffer! If the P.E.I. government lifts the moratorium on ‘deep water wells’ for commercial reasons in addition to climate change challenging us, our ground water could be depleted. Who knows how long it will take? A continuous challenge for P.E.I., including Charlottetown, is to provide clean drinking water. We live on a small island surrounded by salt water and will depend on our clean ground water forever. If it is gone, clean water is not coming over the bridge except in bottles! How important is clean tap water to you? It is time to speak up to your current politicians and those running in the next elections. Our future generations should not have to deal with the possibility of no clean drinking water. We, including all levels of government, need to be responsible to protect P.E.I. ground water – whatever the cost!

Stella (Robbins) Newman (former Charlottetown planning board member), Charlottetown