ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF URBAN WATER SUPPLIES DEBATED

摘要

The recent article "Quenching Urban Thirst: Cities and Their Effects on Freshwater Ecosystems" by FitzHugh (August 2007) suggests that expansion of urban water supplies leads to ecological degradation. While there is little doubt that the creation of new or expanded water supplies alters the environment, it is far from clear that all such alterations are necessarily degrading. The perspective offered by FitzHugh is one that is firmly entrenched in the mindset of most mainstream environmental organizations, yet it is not a view that is always supported by the facts. Two cases from densely populated Massachusetts illustrate this point. In the 1930s the Quabbin Reservoir was created in west central Massachusetts to meet the growing water demands of the greater Boston area. Construction of this vast supply of 412 bil gal resulted in the elimination of four towns to satisfy the water demands of communities some 65 mi to the east. Social upheaval aside, the construction of the Quabbin and protection of most of its 186-sq-mi watershed resulted in the creation of a vast wilderness reminiscent of the lakes region of western Maine. What was a rural setting of villages, roads, farms, and railroads and a potential host of future urban sprawl was replaced with a permanent natural area.