Kudos to the Island County Commissioners who directed the generation of the Clean Water Utility and to the many, many people who helped formulate and draft the plan. Their efforts have produced a very equitable and common sense approach to head off what would be a disaster to the entire county if left unattended.

The costs to everyone involved are certainly reasonable, less than the cost of a modest meal out for 2011 and for a “”nice” meal in 2012. The approved approach offers consideration to those who demonstrate they honestly can’t afford the annual levy. Opponents of the utility have often put forth the idea the science associated with the utility is unproven or weak.

I ask those folks what science they can offer which disproves completely the possibility of there being only one aquifer. Even if there are more than one, every one of those will be just as prone to the dangers of intrusion, loss of water quality and quantity. The return of a certified hydrologist means that every individual and water district in the county that gets water from wells will not have to contract separately with a hydrologist when they have to have their well systems inspected and/or certified.

Independent hydrologists don’t work for free and their cost are a lot more than what you’ll pay each year to maintain the Clean Water Utility. We all live in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. But being islands we have to be more watchful and proactive relative to the care of these islands than might people who live somewhere else. In addition to the rights associated with owning property comes also the obligation to care for it. An old saying attributed the Sioux Nation goes, “We don’t inherit the land from our fathers. We borrow it from our children.”

John Voet

Coupeville