"Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell."
~ Edward Abbey
Water
Focus: Getting Serious About Sustainable Water Management in Community Development
It's difficult to accept the fact that we have a water crisis in New England. Our faucets never disappoint us. Our toilets never cease to flush on cue. We have plenty of good water. No?
And leafy things, they seem to be quite green and healthy everywhere, but that is part of the problem. That same fertilizer we use that "enhances" our lawns and gardens (which, by the way is generally unnecessary to begin with) washes into the ground, or downhill and finds its way alongside and into waterways (as toxins) or inappropriately feeds the vegetation. The manmade, unnatural growth eventually suffocates the waterway.
It's happening all over Massachusetts. One unfortunate model is the Ipswich River, where there are areas that are now shallow or dry as a result of neglected water management.
One Remedy for Healthier Water
The following funded project supports a means to curtail or prevent the damage that normal, unsustainable subdivision planning achieves.
Low Impact Development (LID) Subdivision Demonstration Project, A sub-project of the EPA-funded Ipswich River Restoration Targeted Watershed Grant http://www.mass.gov/dcr/documents/ipswich_factsheet.pdf
What is LID?
LID principles focus on restoring or retaining the pre-development hydrologic conditions of a site by:
• Maximizing the use of natural vegetation, natural site grading, and open space for non- structural stormwater infiltration
Constructed LID features of the subdivision may include, but are not limited to: rain gardens, open swales, bioretention areas, vegetated buffers, porous paving materials, and vegetated roofs, all of which can reduce stormwater runoff and improve site aesthetics. For more information, see: www.mapc.org/lid.
It's difficult to accept the fact that we have a water crisis in New England. Our faucets never disappoint us. Our toilets never cease to flush on cue. We have plenty of good water. No? 
