From Ground Water to Grass Roots: Two Small Towns one Large Corporation

From Groundwater to Grass Roots author Walter Baily chronicles the struggle of residents in the rural Maine towns of Newfield and Shapleigh to prevent an international corporation from extracting groundwater This book highlights residents actions and developing knowledge as they advocate for protecting groundwater beneath their homes and communities The issue was not only preservation of an aquifer but the principle that a resource fundamental to life should not become a commodity for private profit In addition this book testifies to the enduring power of democracy Conflicts in the United States between cities states towns and large water extractors are now common over the control sale and transfer of water Who owns the water Should it be privatized Sites include the Great lakes the Colorado River Florida California Massachusetts Oregon New Hampshire and now Maine This saga reveals the sixteen-month effort of residents to control their groundwater and the quality of their future Citize