pg. 186

Text: ...The villagers, who scarcely know where it lies, instead of going to the pond to bathe or drink, are thinking to bring its water, which should be as sacred as the Ganges at least, to the village in a pipe, to wash their dishes with!...

The idea of piping the water from Walden pond to village is absurd  to Thoreau because it represents to him what life is about and living with the wealth of knowledge rather than personal possessions. He believes that the water from walden is like the Ganges, a river thought to cleanse the soul of all its bad karma and wrong doings, but rather the idea of the purity of nature. Instead of the people of society going to the river and drinking it which for Thoreau reminds him of how he should live his life will be wasted on piping it to society where people will not gain the knowledge of it but rather continue living their lives in the fog.