Protect your water

To the editor:

The vast majority of us just want to live our lives. We feel lucky if we can find and keep a good job, nourish our families and grab time for ourselves to relax, play and — perhaps — reflect on our world.

If we’re lucky, we don’t have to think too much about the basics of life — food, shelter and clean, fresh water. To not have to think about the basics is a sign of success. It’s what freedom feels like.

Still, it’s worth a few moments of our time to give thought to clean water. Where does your water come from? How will your water supply be affected by developments beyond your property line? How can you ensure the quality and quantity of your water? These questions aren’t as simple as they seem. As the Valley continues to grow, the answers to these questions are going to become more important and more complex.

In one sense, all of our water comes from a single source — year-round precipitation. In the winter it is stored in the mountains and wends its way down to our lakes and streams, and to the countless pocketed reservoirs that are spread out beneath our Valley. These reservoirs are unmapped, complex and easily disturbed.

The water you drink does not typically stop at your property line. Even if it did, a neighbor could easily punch a hole into your reservoir, either flooding or draining it. If that happens, you don’t have any standing in court unless you have established your water rights. If your neighbor is a powerful corporate entity with the resources to fight you in court, establishing your water rights becomes even more essential.

If you live in the Valley, and if you depend on a private well for your water supply, you need to make sure that you have registered for your water rights with the state Department of Natural Resources. It’s a straightforward process, although it does involve getting a well log. Without taking that step, you could find yourself in conflict with future neighbors who affect your reservoir.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough continues to encourage more growth and more industrial development involving mining and drilling, so the potential for these conflicts continues to grow. The state of Alaska, through the Department of Natural Resources, manages water rights on a first in time, first in right basis. An application to establish water rights is available at http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/forms/water/wr_app.pdf.

The Department of Natural Resources also provides a fact sheet on water rights, available at http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/water/wrfact.htm.

David Cheezem,

Palmer