Keep artesian well site clean, clear of threats

My husband and I have gone to our favorite place to get water for many years: the downtown artesian well. We go to the well every week to fill our water jugs. We don’t go there to hang out, play ping pong or purchase food.

When the well was in a private parking lot, at times we found it distasteful that ne’er-do-wells would congregate and we even sometimes found them bathing in the very water we use for drinking. We thought when the city took over the parking lot, it might improve the loitering problem by having our Police Department discourage people from just hanging out and interfering with water-gatherers on city-owned property.

Instead, more and more often we encounter unsavory individuals who harass, panhandle and sometimes even act threatening towards us. I was just there this week and there was so much trash around the well site that it was a real eyesore and truly unsanitary.

I would love to see the City of Olympia focus on keeping the well site clean and clear for those of us who use the well for drinking water and to not encourage those who smoke, loiter, do drugs or sleep there. There have been times when I feel my personal safety is at risk.

Please do not remove the available parking spots – have you ever tried filling several water bottles and then find yourself carrying them a long distance to your vehicle?

This story was originally published July 21, 2013 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Keep artesian well site clean, clear of threats."