The regional water authorities have been in the news many times over recent months, leaks, sewage spills, no water, too much water, and most recently the Offwat decision to increase average annual water bills by £86.
Depending on which part of Suffolk you live in, you will have seen fields being ploughed up by bulldozers and low-loader lorries delivering piles of large bright blue pipes. This is all part of Anglia Water’s attempts to distribute drinking water across the region, from the “wetter” north Lincolnshire down to the “drier” Essex, some 330km. It’s part of one of the biggest environmentally friendly water projects in Europe, according to Anglia Water’s publicity.
Whatever you feel about the proposed rise in water rates, the investment and sharing of resources has to be a good thing, even if it is costing over £500million.
Jesus was tired and probably thirsty when he sat to rest at Jacob’s well. The woman he encountered was from Samaria, and was from a group of people looked down on by the Jews, an outsider.
Jesus offers the woman living water, cleaner than any spring water, deeper than the deepest well. The water Jesus offers never runs out. It doesn’t need transportation from one place to another. It doesn’t cost us anything. In fact, the cost of receiving this water is borne by Jesus himself.
So as we consider the increase in our water rates, let us reflect on what the water authority gives us for our money – a regular supply of clean drinking water, sharing of water from water “rich” areas to water “poor” areas, water to wash ourselves, our food, our clothes. Various industries rely on a regular supply of water, and we all rely on the water authority to safely remove contaminated water.
And let us remember that Jesus offers us all an unending supply of living water that quenches all thirst, that gives us new life and that removes all contamination.
Prayer: Jesus, you are the living water that never runs dry. You are the source of refreshment and new life, and you wash us clean from all that contaminates us. Let us drink of that living water today. AMEN