What Prompted Article 1?

Over the years, in Freetown there have been instances of contaminated well water or of wells going dry because of interference other than natural causes.  Most frequently, the cause of wells going dry, other than naturally, is because commercial excavation closes the fissure  - the crack in the rock that allows water to flow through- that supplies water to the private wells or commercial excavation significantly lowers the water table, causing wells to go dry.

FreetownWater wants to protect the ground water that supplies our private wells.  Most residents in Assonet and Freetown depend on well water for their drinking water.  Very few residents have town water.  Some residents use both town water and well water.  FreetownWater thought since most people in town rely on well water for drinking, cooking, showering, bathing, watering lawns, flushing toilets, etc., that it would make sense to protect our main supply of water. Article 1 protects ground water everywhere in Freetwon and Assonet - not just in one location.

This is not about any one company. This is about 5 families loosing their water in East Freetown and their neighbors 3 streets away don't care because it doesn't affect them.  7 wells in Assonet go dry and families in East Freetown don't care because their water is fine.  FreetownWater began to wonder, what would happen if we DID start to care about each other?  What would happen if a neighbor in Assonet could empathize with a neighbor in East Freetown?  What if people began acting like we were all 1 town instead of 2 villages, each unconcerned with what did not directly affect them?

Instead of leaving 3 families in East Freetown on their own to fight to protect their wells, and 7 families in Assonet on their own to re-drill their wells at their own expense and 6 more families in town on their own over an issue involving their wells - what if instead we just universally protected the groundwater in all of East Freetown and all of Assonet?  What if everyone's well and everyone's water supply was protected and no family anywhere in town had to wage the war on their own, at their own expense, with no support after something bad happened.  What if we all together decided to protect each other from having something bad happen in the first place?

This is what prompted Article 1.

Tell your neighbor that you are capable of caring. Please vote YES to protect your water, your neighbor's water, everyone's water because it's everyone's town.

Water Law written by Environmental Engineer

Mark Spear, Environmental Engineer

Mark Spear was an Environmental Engineer who worked on the clean up of various sites to ensure the health and safety of future generations. He was keenly aware of the preciousness of our ecology and natural resources and saw first hand, many times, the kinds of contamination and environmental damage that could be done and its affects on surrounding populations. In his leisure time, Mark enjoyed snowborading, golfing, biking and being with family and friends. Mark wrote this bylaw to protect the water supply of his town.  Citizens of Freetown are trying to adopt Mark's Law at the Freetown Special Meeting on Monday, June 16th at 7:00 pm at the Freetown Elementary School in order to protect the water in Freetown/Assonet.
Mark died of brain cancer on October 5th, 2013.  Please don't let his work, his efforts to preserve our most precious natural resource, and his dedication to our health and the health of our environment die with him.  Please continue the good Mark started.  Please vote YES for Mark's Law, Article 1, at the Freetown Special Meeting on Monday.