This week the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) raised the drought alert for the entire state, issuing a statewide Drought Warning, and urging every resident and business to reduce non-essential water use. What was once a drought watch has now escalated —a signal that rivers, streams, reservoirs and aquifers are straining under unusually prolonged dryness. Visit NJDEP’s Drought Information website for up to date information.
As a spiritual ecology nonprofit centered on water as the source and sustainer of all life, we echo this urgent call to action. Waterspirit can help municipalities by supporting green infrastructure demonstration projects, tangibly conserving and rerouting stormwater. We view this as a deeply moral and spiritual call: when water becomes scares and our taps become uncertain, we are reminded water is not a commodity to be consumed at will—but a sacred inheritance, a shared resource that belongs to all beings and future generations.
Across sacred Earth, many faith and spiritual traditions—Indigenous, Earth-centered, interfaith—recognize water as sacred, as a gift of life entrusted to us, not for profit, but for care. In this moment, New Jersey is at a crossroads; will we respond with short-term conservation calls, or will we recognize water as what it truly is: a fundamental human and ecological right?
Waterspirit supports the New Jersey Green Amendment (ACR119/SCR43)- a state constitutional amendment to the bill of rights section that would guarantee that every person has a right to pure water, clean air, a stable climate and healthy environment, and would establish that the state holds natural resources in trust for all people—now and for generations to come.
The legal power of a Green Amendment goes beyond regulation and policy—it affirms that water is not a privilege, but a right of every human being and every living being whose life depends on water’s purity. It aligns with international principles recognizing water and a healthy environment as basic human rights.
In this crisis, we invite you—individuals, congregations, communities, civic groups—to hold fast to the deeper truth: every drop of water is sacred. Ensuring water flows for all is not optional.
Join us in Newark for the next NJ Green Amendment Town Hall Friday 12/12/25 from 11AM-1PM ET in Newark- ask questions and learn more! If you have not yet taken it in, check our previous webinar “Faith Traditions Uniting in Support of a NJ Green Amendment.”