I wish to thank Ward 3 City Councilor Ryan O’Donnell for bringing an ordinance forward to protect Northampton’s public water system from being sold to private corporate control.
Promises made to budget-strapped communities that business can do a better job for less money than government is a falsehood. A private, for-profit system can never match the public mission of service delivery of potable water to its citizenry.
In Crete, Illinois, where my 89-year-old mother lives, her community sold water wells to a private company on such a promise. As she said to me this past Christmas, “my water bill has tripled and I’m using half the amount of water (since Dad died) – they’re all a bunch of crooks.”
The problem with selling your water rights is that once you do they are gone, and the cost to get them back will be a figure you cannot afford. For this, and for many other thoughtful actions, I urge a vote for O’Donnell for at-large city councilor July 7 and Aug. 4 in the special election.
Dennis Helmus
Northampton