Beth Pearce: The financial case to protect Vermont’s water

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Vermont Treasurer Beth Pearce.
Clean water is the backbone to Vermont’s economy and is vital to the health and wellbeing of all our citizens. Not only is clean water an essential natural resource – it is also an integral part of our character as a state.
Despite common ground and a consensus from policymakers and citizens that we need to protect and preserve our most precious natural resources, the quality of our waterways has degraded as ph