The top headline in last Thursday’s Gazette got me to thinking about my days on active duty, teaching political science at the Air Force Academy. Now granted, lots of things make me think back to my 25 years in uniform – airplanes flying overhead, short haircuts – but in this case it was the story entitled “State to cap free spring water.”

It seems there is a spigot on Highway 67 near Gillette Flats that has been dispensing free water from a well for years. It’s not clear how long the locals have been getting free water. Some say it’s been 30 years, while others say the spring has been providing the vital fluid for over a century. People have been filling up jugs, bottles, big tubs and more for their livestock as well as their own daily use. And when something has been going on for decades, it’s understandable that people would start to see that service as an entitlement or even a right. But is free water a right?

I’ve written about water before, and I likely will again, as it is a subject of vital importance and urgency in the Rocky Mountain west. And that is why this story is both compelling and troubling. It seems the exact ownership of the water was, at least for a long time, unclear. Coloradans know that we are part of a seven-state coalition to manage the Colorado River and the use of its water, under the Colorado River Compact of 1922. But things are less clear when you get down to springs that provide live-giving and business-sustaining water far away from the great river itself.

Reporter Debbie Kelley does a very nice job of laying out the competing factions vying for the water that appears along Highway 67. And as Kelley explains, the Florissant Water and Sanitation District has finally taken definitive action, announcing the spring will be capped in November, with further public use of that water prohibited. And your view of that decision very likely depends on how readily available water is to you in your daily lives. Sitting in my home in Colorado Springs, fresh, clean, and safe water is the twist of a tap away. From my comfortable chair, I can tut-tut at the “freeloaders” demanding a product for free that I pay for. After all, you don’t get something for nothing, right?

But I suspect my thinking might be a bit different were I a rancher on that challenging land, who for decades was able to water my crops, animals, and family with what seemed to be a free and public resource.

The well was not anyone’s particular responsibility, and the water was never regularly tested for quality and purity. But it appears untold numbers of critters as well as lots of people have been drinking the water without any real problems.

Except that it was free.

I’ve remarked before that we in the United States often tend to pay the most attention to the level of government that usually has the least impact on our daily lives. We fuss about the president (I certainly do) but rarely do we pay attention to those far-more-local governmental structures such as water boards. Yet those smaller entities are often far more central to your lives, even if you don’t realize it.

The Florissant group only has 93 customers, about as few as they can stand. So, they hope that in addition to making things fairer, the capping of the well will also compel some folks to sign on with the District, and that growth will help sustain the delivery of water throughout the area.

So, what are the good folks of Gillette Flats to do? They must have water, so they’ll have to buy it. And if you, like me, already pay for water, you may think it’s only fair that they pay too. And maybe that’s correct, but it will represent a significant change in lifestyles that have been going on for many years.

I do think it is right and appropriate for water not to be free, as we all need it, and there isn’t enough of it for every use all the time. But my heart does ache a bit for the nice people who line up daily on the highway, waiting for water. And I remind myself, that if we don’t have a more comprehensive water policy in Colorado, we in the cities may only be a few steps away from waiting on line for water. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m thirsty.