During the summer, Maureen and I visited the western Finger Lakes region of New York. I paddled a canoe one evening on Canadice Lake, just south of the town of Hemlock. Canadice and Hemlock Lakes are the last two Finger Lakes that remain undeveloped - no houses along the entire shore. They were protected by the city of Rochester as its drinking water source. As such, the lakes (and the land surrounding them) have provided recreation for canoeists, fisherman and hikers. What an unbelievable experience to paddle my canoe on an uninhabited lake, less than 30 miles from the 200,000 citizens of Rochester.
Unfortunately, the future of Canadice and Hemlock Lakes is in question. Rochester has a new water treatment plant and no longer needs these lakes for its drinking water. Will Rochester sell the land and lakes to the highest bidder? Or, will it work with the state, land trusts, and local communities to protect this natural resource for future generations? What a loss to the globe if this last reserve were developed.
Literally in my own back yard is a tract owned by Riegelsville Borough. The land protects the springs that once supplied Riegelsville's drinking water. Now, wells provide that service. Riegelsville has no intention of selling its holdings in Williams Township, but one can sense the impact at a local level.
I am sure you can think of several municipalities that protect lands outside of their city limits to supply drinking water for their citizens. New technologies and shrinking city budgets are putting those protected lands in jeopardy. In the future, municipalities will face increased pressure to divest these holdings, and we will all be scrambling to protect them for future generations.
