For those of us who live on the East Coast, Montana seems a world away, but a historic settlement between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes over water rights and restoration protects the water, the bison, and the people allowing both tribal and non-Native use of the waters. It could be a harbinger of a better approach to water rights in the West and the preservation of rivers.
Water. Without it we would die, but we need good, clean water, without contaminating chemicals that destroy the earth as well as the people who drink and use it. The 1974 Safe Drinking Act only applies to operators of public water systems and does not protect the 44 million users of well water, sourced by underground aquifers.
In our drive for natural gas, fracking has caused the contamination of well water in rural areas. Oil spills, such as the one in West Virginia contaminated the water of a small community. Other towns there have had water contaminated by chemicals for years. We don’t think much about the water we drink. We should.
Prayer for the Day
Thirsting for you, O God, we are as a people in a dry and parched land,
For we need the water of life we find in your righteousness;
Struggling in our daily lives, we reach out to you, O God, in hope
That we are able to be in the shadow of your wings.
Bestow your presence upon us and grant that we are faithful to you,
Sharing your justice and righteousness with others.
In the name of the One who was always faithful,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We must begin thinking like a river if we are to leave a legacy of beauty and life for future generations.
David Brower, environmental leader and organizer (1912-2000)
A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.
Laura Gilpin, American naturalist photographer (1891-1979)
You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water;
You provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly, setting its ridges, softening it with showers,
And blessing its growth.
Psalm 65: 9-11