The other day I received my Loudoun County water bill. With all of the rain this spring, I haven't had to water my lawn, and since I don't wash my car at home, the bill was about what I expected. But tucked inside the envelope was a the latest newsletter from the county -- NewsLeak. Not as clever as they could be, but the title aside, the contents were interesting.
It seems that Loudoun water received $1.78 million in federal stimulus funds for two separate water projects here in Northern VA. Apparently there is some kind of water industry term for reclamation projects -- purple pipe. Here in Loudoun, the utility is reusing water for irrigation and cooling purposes. Excellent choices and smarter thinking that using fresh, drinkable water to keep lawns green or buildings cool.
Fresh water brings me to a column in today's The New York Times by Nicholas Kristoff, "Clean, Sexy Water." Kristoff tells the story of the man who started charity:water, a group that I heard of for the first time a few years ago. I was in Kansas City at a business conference and strolled into Saks (I'm a world-class shopper, albeit without a world-class check book) after noticing an interesting poster. The store was selling rubber bracelets with the words charity:water stamped on the face.
The bracelet's not as sturdy as the LiveStrong ones that seem to be on everyone's wrist, but just like Lance's quest to raise funds to find a cure for cancer, Scott Harrison the founder of charity:water wants to find a way to find a way to get clean water to families around the world, especially in Africa.
Kristoff and Harrison, and importantly, Loudoun County all know that clean water is precious. Let's all do our part like Scott Harrison and encourage our government and local utilities to continue supporting projects that use water wisely.
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