No Excuse

In 1767, noted American statesman Benjamin Franklin said: When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.

Well, now, it can be safely said, that thousands of residents in Crete’s northeastern townships, especially those in Gouves, are all too aware of the worth of water…their “wells” have been dry for most of the summer of 2010, and, for some, have remained dry for more than 10 days at a time. 

Just how we arrived at this outrageous situation is a mystery, since local governments have been experiencing worsening water problems each year, allowing them ample time to prepare programmes to cope with the situation before it reached the scandalous proportions of 2010, and leaving much of its constituencies high and dry.

For sure, they talk about water drilling problems and pumping difficulties and a slew of other reasons for the current situation, but they just remind us of another old saying: excuses explain but they don’t excuse. 

However, what’s curiously missing from these official statements, as it has been and in previous years, is just what is being done to ensure that these problems don’t reappear next summer, or, God forbid, even worsen.

As our glorious leaders ponder the problem, perhaps they should consider these words from Jacques Cousteau: We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.