Rapping about water, Part 2
Our letter to Jay Z drew a crowd, but the value of water is what’s worth discussing
By Denver Water staff
We never imagined that our open letter to Jay Z would attract that kind of coverage. It was meant to be a light-hearted story with a serious subject at its core — the value of water.
We don’t want that message to be lost, so we’re taking our own advice: We’re sticking to our own business, man. As water resource managers, we want people to understand our most precious — and valuable — resource.
This is not about whether Jay Z thinks water is free. In fact, we commend him for speaking out about the water crisis in other countries. We understood his reference to water and music. He was talking about the value of the very thing that provides his livelihood.
So were we.
Everywhere you look, water leads the news. From flooding to droughts, water affects our communities, our economy and our ecosystem. At Denver Water, our job is to manage this vital resource, whether we have too much or too little.
Today, our Cheesman and Strontia Spring reservoirs are full from the extremely wet spring (see video below). We’ve seen spilling like this before, but not in a decade or more.
In some spots there is more water than manageable, like Texas. And yet California longs for more, suffering one of the worst droughts in its history — at least for now.
So whether you are Jay Z or Joe Blow, we all need to understand that water is a precious commodity indeed, and that we have to use every drop efficiently. After all, you can’t make this stuff.
And let’s not forget: Jay Z also said that water from the tap — clean, fresh water that we can use without worry — is a beautiful thing.
We agree. Let’s keep talking. Water is worth a broad discussion, and we intend to be a big part of it.
