The Town of Bethel is holding a voter referendum today on the sale of Bethel Water Department to Aquarion Water Company.
We have seen recent statements and campaigns that a Yes vote would “support clean water,” but these are misleading. No matter how today’s vote goes, the Bethel water supply will continue to be regulated by the Department of Public Health and will continue to be required to supply clean and safe water to the public.
What a Yes vote does do is transfer the town’s water assets to a private company. Aquarion will seek to abandon existing reservoirs that currently provide drinking water to Bethel citizens, which would remove protections from the lands around the reservoirs. That makes over 290 acres of open space susceptible to development that could threaten the clean drinking water in these reservoirs. The reservoirs should be preserved for emergency or future use, and the lands around them should be kept undeveloped.
Please VOTE NO on this deal today. A No vote is a vote for safe drinking water and open space–now and for Bethel’s future.
The vote is open until 8:00 PM tonight. You can find your polling place here.
Read more:
Op-ed: “Water company transfer a ‘bad deal’ for Bethel’s future”
Article: “Bethel water sale spurs opponents”
Posted by Roger Reynolds, director of land protection programs for CFE
Today Bethel Residents overwelmingly defeated the corrupt deal to sell it’s natural resources to Aquarion. For a town that just spent $10 million on a public library, to even think about selling over 300 prestine acres to a foreign owned (London-based parent company) corporate jackal for a mere $7 million was too much for everyone to accept.
Now it’s time to hold town officials who brokered this backdoor deal accountable.
Thank you for supporting our efforts!
For final vote tallies: http://www.bethelbulletin.com/