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Mt Wachusetts viewed from Westminster MA







Water is a caress of God [84] which you can experience floating down a Massachusetts river, splashing in the waves on a Cape Cod beach, or gulping a cool drink on a hot summer day. In most years, Massachusetts is blessed with abundant water supplies. However, although droughts are a natural part of the climate in the northeast, they vary significantly yearly and by location. 

Pope Francis writes that access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human survival and, as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights.” Water, as a precious part of the material universe “…speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us.” Climate change has already altered our precipitation patterns, so now our rain comes in heavier downpours and more often. Most climate predictions suggest that we may face even more frequent droughts in the future. Thus, part of our duty as stewards of God’s creation is to use our water wisely.

Pope Francis reminds us that “water supplies used to be relatively constant, but now in many places demand exceeds the sustainable supply, with dramatic consequences in the short and long term.”   

Water supplies in Massachusetts vary significantly by region.  The MWRA supplies Boston and much of Eastern Mass from the Quabbin Reservoir, the Wachusett Reservoir and the Ware River.  While most of the rest of the state is supplied primarily through ground water.  As demand for water continues to grow, we will strain our water supplies in many years, in spite of its abundance on earth.