Op-Ed: The Importance of Water in Development

Imagine if you will, a lone figure trudging through a barren desert landscape with nothing but miles and miles of seemingly endless seas of sand to keep them company. Obviously, of primary importance to that person would be finding WATER and finding it FAST! The importance of water to the continuation of human life cannot be downplayed. Water is most important to all of life, from the lowliest seedling to the greatest land mammal.

This is not so much a response to Rebecca Lawton’s piece from last week’s (May 25, 2022) Ledger as it is engendered by it. Lawton’s article is a good example of how the lust for revenue often undermines the best-laid plans, even the purest of intentions. For example, around the turn of the last century, a certain group wanted to bring more revenue to the Valley, Whitehall in particular, by opening up a sugar beet processing facility. As it turns out, to make a long story short, someone neglected to do the necessary research, for if they had they might have figured out that sugar beets don’t grow well in this part of the Valley. Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the story I have been told.

At the recent Jefferson County Candidates Forum for the County Commissioner position, when asked about her primary concern as far as growth in Whitehall and the Greater Jefferson Valley, as well as the county, Mayor Mary Janacaro-Hensleigh’s response was that water is her greatest concern as far as that goes.

As our little corner of Heaven called southwest Montana has been under varying drought conditions for the past twenty years or so , not only the ready availability, but the conservation of water must be absolute first on the list when it comes to future development! Currently, at least 25% of Montana is experiencing extreme to severe drought. If water must be shipped or piped into the region from another area, these cost considerations must be made as well. If the water has to come from another area, not only are we very likely taking that means away from some other farmer/rancher who is already struggling to put food on the family table, but, with the rising cost of fuel and items across the board, we must further take into account the cost of getting it from there to here, which raises the cost of said development. This in turn translates into higher rent and real estate prices, all in the name of revenue.

We must ask ourselves. “Is it worth it? Are we robbing Peter to pay Paul?”

Quoting from my letter to the editor in the October 20, 2021 edition of the Ledger, “I, and I believe, ‘We’, would like to see us grow what we already have. It is clear to me that this area has plenty of natural resources, including the wonderful human beings that make this town what it is, as well as in the surrounding areas.”

This includes water. Even though much of the area is currently experiencing drought conditions, we have thus far been okay, but these conditions MUST be the primary consideration in ANY future development plans! I realize that it has to be a very sobering concern in the mind of ANY developer, but that developer MUST take into account the importance of the ready availability of water before they even think about that golden shovel of sand.