After attending a County Commissioner’s meeting, I realized just how complex the Crystal Geyser issue is.
Crystal Geyser wants to build a water bottling plant in East Lewis County to package, ship, and sell bottled water all over the world. Having them do so would boost the economy, especially if they were hiring locally. But on the other side, citizens are worried that it may deplete water sources, and damage the majestic beauty of the area.
There is also concern regarding the increased demand on infrastructure due to population growth, such as traffic, schools, public services, etc. As I understand the different points of view, I tend to side more with the citizens of East Lewis County because I too live in the country where everything is naturally beautiful.
I also live in a basin where family wells and farmers are affected when river flows get low. The Cowlitz River Basin does not suffer low flow issues now, but who’s to say after years of removing water from the aquifer, that problems may not arise.
Rarely does commercialized land return to its naturally beautiful state, so preventing this from happening, even at the loss of its economic stimulus, is worth fighting for.
Brianna Powe
Chehalis
