Over the last few weeks, I’ve written about the crisis ignited by an oil and gas pipeline being laid over the Memphis Sands and routed through an historic Black community. This final post in the series is about what you and I can do in the face of such emergencies.
The totality of the climate crisis in general can be overwhelming, and that sense of a never ending list of work before us can feed a helplessness that paralyzes us. And usually, my advice is to do some internal discernment around the things that deeply matter to you, and look for a resonance in the Eco or Green worlds. It will be there. Water certainly is one of these things that matter, but water is so broad itself, and is so complex that just to approach “Water Justice” is intimidating.
I know most of the country felt horrified and helpless as Flint, MI, went without a safe water supply for years. YEARS. And even now, the lead pipes remain a clear and present danger to the populations they serve. We rarely think about where the water in our ubiquitous bottled water comes from, but much of it is essentially stolen by mega corporations like Nestle and Coca Cola. You can walk into your local convenience store right now and buy water bottled from Las Vegas’ municipal supply. Las Vegas. A desert city.
I now live in the Mountain West, where water is a scarce and precious resource, but grew up in the South, which is saturated with water. Perhaps it is that abundance itself which leads the South to treat its stewardship of water so poorly. When something is all around you, and feels plentiful and accessible, it’s easy to forget how sensitive its balance may actually be. But the truth is that we are standing on several knife edges simultaneously, and water flows through all of it.
While we’ve been focusing on Memphis, and the Byhalia Pipeline debacle that threatens the regional aquifer there, oil and gas operations are threats to water integrity all over the country. Even if you are not near an active fracking or drilling zone, chances are pipelines flow through your community. You can look up some of what is buried around us, but one of the things I’ve learned while doing more on the ground work here in Colorado is that no one really knows where all the wells and activity sites are or have been. AGI is an industry group from the scientists’ side and has some pipeline mapping. The fossil fuel industry maps aren’t as thorough, but the US Department of Energy has good resources as well. You will probably be surprised not only how many there are, but how close they come to where people live. And always, always, sited in places that are more vulnerable and sensitive, previously poisoned, and home to nonwhite and poor populations. Populations who have not historically been able to fight for the safety and health of their communities.
It’s said that the Byhalia Pipeline was sited through this Memphis neighborhood because the route presented the “path of least resistance.” But in fact, this choice may have led oil and gas conglomerate Valero, this pipelines, and future pipelines down a path of ALL resistance. People who have never before been activated are stirring, declaring this to be wrong and dangerous. Water is the ultimate equalizer and nonpartisan concern, as each living creature needs it and water itself cannot be bound. It can flow over dams and dykes and through levees
Know Where You Are Now
One of the most important things we can do is get to know our own local and regional water. What watershed do you live in? Where does your drinking water come from? How is storm water managed where I live? What other water regions are we connected to? If you live somewhere with clean safe water that flows from the tap when turned, give thanks. This is not the case everywhere, and may become the exception if we cannot reclaim water as a public good, and not a commodity off of which one can make a profit.
Everyone lives in an area fed by a watershed. Watersheds zones overlay state and municipal boundaries, and regional water management is always complicated. The US Geological Survey and the EPA both have great online water resources for finding and understanding your watershed. There may be an upside to the commodification of water in that an increasingly educated consumer base can make different demands on the producers of goods. Research which corporations are present in your watershed, what industries, and any impacts they have on the watershed integrity. The US Bureau of Labor Statics is a reliable source for this information.
Know What You Do Now
Secondly, you can delve into your own use of water. Do you have land or a yard? How do you water these places? Are you using native or invasive plants? Are you Xeriscaping? Are you using drought sensitive plants? Do you conserve water in your home? Examples may include short showers, toilet flushing w used water, irrigating with captured water, stoppered sinks over free-flowing taps, etc. Is it legal to establish a grey-water system where you live? These systems capture and filter used water within a household and utilize that water in various appropriate places for non potable water, like sanitation and irrigation. Even actions as simple as tightening all sinks and taps, and repairing leaks, can conserve significant water!
Know What You Can Do Now
There are many organizations that keep you up to date on local and regional water regulations, and your community undoubtedly has neighborhoods fighting for reduced lead in pipes, or for flooding abatement from poor storm water management, or poor quality of drinking water concerns. Food and Water Watch is one of my go-to organizations for resources around policy and advocacy. Your region may host a chapter of the American Indian Movement or have tribal or native representation that you can access. Indigenous wisdom will be crucial for the healing of what is broken -and while you may not know it, there is probably an indigenous presence near you.