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We have no choice but to plan ahead

July 22, 2011

Wars have been fought and kingdoms lost over water and water rights. Although the world is mostly made up of water, millions of people do not have a source for clean, usable water. That's not the case in Danville.


Sometime in the mid 1920s, the leaders of this community recognized the system of wells and creeks was not sufficient and constructed a water purification system using Herrington Lake.


Herrington Lake, as many know, was constructed to produce hydroelectricity and was the answer to the problem of a clean water supply to the communities near the lake.


The old-timers say the water was almost clean enough to drink directly from of the lake. That is not true today. Years of dumping waste by the public, farms and factories make it more difficult than ever to produce the quality of water the public demands.

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The technicians at the Danville water plant are doing a great job with a very overworked and antiquated system.


I support the decision to construct additional facilities for the purpose of providing water now, and in the future, and think we should do even more. In the future, Herrington Lake will be gone or unusable. No one can predict when this will happen. Hundreds of years? Who knows.


I would like to see Danville, possibility in partnership with other communities, explore the idea of building a reservoir or lake. This would insure both water for consumption and water to be used as a tool to expand the economics of our area.


I'm not talking about the pond at the end of East Main Street. I am suggesting a reservoir of several thousand acres.


I understand Danville has a good grant writer. Maybe that person could do an investigation to determine what federal help is available. The Army Corps of Engineers could have some sort of plan for an emergency and could be a good place to start. No one wants additional expenses but in this case we have no choice.


Jack L. Shepherd
Danville

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