Protecting the Water ©

Reverend Janet Parsons

Gloucester UU Church

September 13, 2026

 

 

One of my favorite walks takes me to the quarries in Pigeon Cove, past Flat Ledge and on up the hill to Carlson’s and then to Steel Derrick. And the past couple of years I’ve been concerned at the really low water levels in Flat Ledge quarry. The first time or two I enjoyed seeing the ramp emerging near the bottom and some of the remains of equipment that is usually submerged. As a historically-minded person, I am always interested in the vestiges of an old industry from a century ago. But I was surprised this spring, after all the snow we had last winter, that the water level in the quarry still seemed very low. I started paying closer attention, and discovered that we have been under drought conditions for some time and that I had been fooled by our big snowstorms and then by the rainy days and nights we’ve had this spring and summer.

 

It feels a bit odd to be talking about drought on this rainy morning. But I find that as time goes on I welcome rainy days more and more, and hope each time that we’ll experience an actual rainy spell, and begin to catch up a bit on the rain shortfall.

 

This dry spell isn’t just local. Increasingly, drought is an issue across the United States. I did a little bit of digging and learned that as of last week, 44 states are experiencing at least moderate drought conditions, affecting roughly 100 million people.  (https://www.drought.gov/current-conditions)

 

Living here in the Northeast, I’ve always taken adequate fresh water completely for granted. Of course, we might have a dry summer, but overall we are blessed with abundance: lakes and rivers, and usually all the rain we need. But we might be arriving in an era when we cannot take our abundance for granted, and we might need to find more and better ways to preserve and protect our drinking water.

 

Even as drought conditions prevail, those of us along the coast have focused our attention much more on another concern about water – the threat of sea level rise. Here on Cape Ann we are balancing duel dangers: a potential lack of fresh water, and the hazard of ocean water causing flooding and damage to buildings and infrastructure.

 

In addition to the drying of much of the earth, a phenomenon known as ‘aridification’, there is another new threat to our fresh water supply. I’m speaking, of course, about the huge data centers that are springing up around the country; facilities intended to hold the enormous numbers of computers needed to generate and store information, and increasingly to train artificial intelligence models. Such large computer facilities require sometimes a million gallons of water per day to keep computer chips from overheating. Much of this water evaporates, and so is not able to be captured and recycled.

 

We gathered here this morning sharing water from near and far, explaining what it means to us. And this small amount of water blesses our gathering, even as we in turn bless this water, but at the same time, we cannot imagine our lives without the ready supply we are so used to; that we will always have all that we need.

 

In Wendell Berry’s words that we heard a few minutes ago,

“Though we drink till we burst,

we cannot have it all,

or want it all.

In its abundance

it survives our thirst.”                (Like the Water, by Wendell Berry)

 

 

In the midst of our ritual, and sharing our enjoyment of being together, of using water to symbolically re-create our community, we must acknowledge that there is a shadow gathering at the edge of our vision. It’s time to do more than be mildly curious, as I have been, about why the quarry water level remains so low.

 

How can we protect this precious resource: water, which sustains and nurtures all life?

 

“wherever the land is dry and hard,

you could be the water;” wrote our poet.

 

“You could be the one who

protects the water,

or the one who blesses it,

or the one who pours it.”                       (Clarissa Pinkola Estes, The Rainmaker)

 

What might your role be?  There are many possibilities. But for today, let’s begin with awareness, and allow our awareness to ripen into gratitude for the blessing of abundant water that we have been so freely given.

 

Most years I carefully save this water we gather to use in rituals, such as child dedications. Today, I am going to take it outside after the service and return it to the trees on our allee. It doesn’t amount to much, but today I want to be the one who pours the water.

 

Enjoy the rain today. Perhaps use the quiet of a rainy afternoon to think for a few minutes about how you might play a role in conserving our life-giving water. But most of all, let’s all be grateful for the gift of water.