There’s a threat to our drinking water that you can help avert at a public hearing on Tuesday, March 17.

Water is one of our most critical and endangered resources. We have some of the purest water in the U.S.; why would we be so foolish to harm that in any way? Just look around at what can happen: the complete failure of the Texas water supply system, the near terrorist attack on the water system in Oldsmar, FL, and lead in the water of Flint, MI. Even our most sacred places, like Yellowstone National Park, have seen oil pipelines burst (in 2011 and 2015), which sent thousands of gallons of crude oil cascading into the Yellowstone River, turning it brown. Across the world, it is even worse. Think of rivers in China on fire or extreme drought or flooding caused by climate change.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has given the grade of “D” for the quality of U.S. drinking water systems. Crumbling infrastructure and inadequate mitigation of contaminants is the reason.

However, there have been recent water policy victories. The Delaware Riverkeeper and Damascus Citizens won a huge victory recently with the banning of fracking in the Delaware River Basin, thus protecting the drinking water of 45 million people downstream. The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes are celebrating the recent blockage of the XL Pipeline, saving their ancestral waters from the threat of oil contamination.

Professional hydrologists/engineers have stated that Interstate 84/Route 6 interchange sets up the greatest threat to the Milford Springs: an oil/chemical spill from a tanker truck that can harm the springs in as little as eight hours. The second greatest threat is intense commercial development on the aquifer.

The problem with protecting the Milford Springs Aquifer is that you cannot see it; it is underground. So, I want you to imagine as you approach Interstate 84, traveling west on Route 6, that on both sides, you see a reservoir called Lake Milford. As you cross over the interstate, you will see the lake again on your right and left. Now, I want you to consider placing a mall, hotel or warehouse terminal floating on top of Lake Milford, your drinking water reservoir. It would be absurd, right? But right now, your aquifer is being sold off as prime commercial real-estate to developers, and it needs to be stopped.

So I ask you, how important is this life-giving resource to you? We need all hands on deck to be on the winning side of this issue because opposing forces are strong and flush with cash. Will this community accept a D-rated water source like the rest of America, or will we choose to keep our water as pure as possible?

Take action. A Florida developer is asking for his property, which is located on the Milford Aquifer, to be upgraded to a Resort Commercial Zone—Dingman Township’s most extensive zone. There is a public hearing on this matter on Tuesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. For Zoom link, email rtk@dingmantownship.org.

Make your voice heard. Clean drinking water is essential to life.

Vito DiBiasi lives in Dingman Township, Milford, PA.