This is getting so old already

I just finished lugging in twelve gallons of Poland Spring water jugs. I wish I could just turn on my faucet and get drinking water again. We've tried the Brita filtered pitcher, but it wouldn't fit in the fridge. Really, I just want my water back.

Heat

It's so darn hot.
All I want to do
is take a big chug of
cold, cold water
without a pound of chlorine
in it.
All I want to do is
take a relaxing shower
with the smell
of familiar water.
All I want to do
is feel refreshed
like I used to.

It is so darn hot
and now I am so thirsty.....

General Meeting

Tonight at 5:00pm, the Bethpage Water Commissioners are holding their bi-weekly meeting which is open to the public. I wish I could be there to ask questions and be a part of the conversation, but I cannot due to work. I want to see who is following up with my Facebook group and hear what they have to say. Am I the only person who feels so passionate about quality tap water? Seeing as the group now has 206 members in less than a week, I highly doubt it. I just want to meet and connect with others out there because I feel that if we all put our brains together, we can get our clean water back.

If you go, let me know. My sister will be there. I will post what she tells me about the meeting so we can all see what we need to do.

The Long Road Ahead

I never was the most political person. Yes, I believe in the value and necessity of politics, but I never took personal interest in the matter. However, I have changed. I've been reading some medical and science journals on the Internet (mostly using my college's database), and what I am reading about chlorine scares me. By-products in the water from chlorine can be cancer causing. There just doesn't seem to be enough evidence to make chlorine the "end-all" solution. Chemicals in water are never safe. Our water was just fine.....

I am trying to gather some information to share some light on why chlorine was added to Bethpage's water supply. From what I can conclude, it's because the population has grown and the state wants the local government to follow a federal guideline. However, our water has always tested clean. I can tell that we have a long journey ahead of us to get the non-chlorination waiver back. My suggestion: write to our local politicians. We voted for them, so they should be willing to talk with us. Call them, meet with them. I am taking the initiative to start a petition, but I have to find out all the rules first. In the meantime, talk with your neighbors about how they feel, write letters to the editor of The Bethpage Tribune, and write or call our local politicians. Remember, actions speak louder than words.

The Water Odyssey Begins......

Our Bethpage water was something I took for granted. I have been drinking it my entire life and never gave much thought about it. It was there, it was a part of the mundane, and I am ashamed that I never valued it the right way. Now, it's gone.

I feel like I am living in a third-world country now, having to boil my water in order to drink it. I called the Nassau County Board of Health the other day and they simply told me to leave the water out in an open container to allow the chlorine to "dissipate." Honestly, it doesn't seem to help.

I am a tax paying citizen. I might sound so spoiled by saying this, but I am entitled to clean water. I live in a democracy, I have rights. If I wanted to drink chlorinated water, I could have gone to the public pool.

I understand the safety meausures the Board of Health wants to take, but aren't we so lucky to have this water as naturally clean as it is? There is so much more to this dilemma than I can state in one blog entry.