To the editor:

I write to thank the Jefferson County Water and Sewer District for the service it provides to residents and other users.

The public would be wise to recognize the essential value of good quality drinking water. We literally can’t live without it. We take it for granted at our peril and that is not an overstatement.

Jefferson County water users are spread out all over the county and this adds to the expense of maintenance and operations.

As was pointed out in the Aug. 3 edition of the Herald-Star, we are the largest geographic system in the state and that means miles of piping and valves that must be maintained (“Jefferson County commissioners hear water concerns.”) It is well past time for county residents to face the reality that a water system can’t be operated and maintained at a discount.

Mandates from the EPA are also very expensive, but they pay for clean waterways and water for more people. We get something valuable for our money.

And yes, it does disappear because much of it really does go underground.

Then there is that old standby complaint of waste, fraud and abuse. This is a favorite for those who look at cost and ignore value. Every organization makes mistakes or has inefficiencies, but those that are privately held can keep their shortcomings from public view.

Public water systems like ours are subject to public oversight, which gives self-proclaimed experts a chance to show the rest of us what they don’t know, while lecturing those have experience and extensive knowledge.

We’d better be careful. Once a complex system starts to fail, it takes years and enormous amounts of money and effort to restore to useful service. Please don’t expect to pay discount prices for this priceless resource. And think of your children. They will have to live with the decisions we make now.

John Rucki

Amsterdam