Dear HCN,
Megan Lardner’s story,
“Divided waters” (HCN, 3/12/01: Divided waters), provoked a strong,
visceral response in me. She certainly has the ability to observe
and to describe what she sees. What she saw stirred my
gut.
To have a metropolitan border area of over 2
million persons, some of whom have to depend on their drinking
water from clandestine water taps and delivery of dirty groundwater
by truck, is an outrage in a 21st century economy. El Paso Water,
the state of Texas, the elected representatives of the El Paso
region, the United States and the multinational corporations
benefiting from cheap Mexican labor, land and resources, have a
responsibility to rectify this situation. It is unconscionable that
such a basic necessity as water is denied to families and citizens
of both countries.
This problem can be solved. We
have the brainpower to solve it, and those mentioned above have the
money to solve it, if they choose to do so. As a manager in the
public service for 30 years, I have repeatedly seen public policy
turned on end by one person with a vision and a willingness to
pursue that vision. I hope Megan’s writing found fertile ground
among persons who can act or speak to this
shame.
Greg
Trainor
Grand Junction, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The border’s gut-wrenching water problems.
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