Great Lakes residents have long feared that it will be the parched people of distant lands like Arizona, California, and Asia who would seek to siphon water off the Great Lakes system. But clearly the more immediate challege is much closer to home, as evidenced by Darryl Enriquez's latest report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailing the ongoing saga of Waukesha, WI to find more water.
The rapidly growing suburb of Milwaukee already pumps groundwater faster than nature replenishes it. But conservation is rarely mentioned as a legitimate solution to stimulate new development. Instead of carefully scrutinizing and managing current demand, many communities across the region rely soley on finding new sources of water, adding more pumps, constructing ever-larger pipes and purification stations, and withdrawing ever more water. Ultimately, that strategy costs residents and local governments money and puts globally unique natural resources such as the Great Lakes at risk.
There is another way. As the costs of maintaining public water and sewer service escalate, astute leaders across the nation are shifting the focus away from an exclusive reliance on building more pumping stations and pipelines and towards making existing systems operate more efficiently.
One stark example: The number of Seattle Water Department customers grew by 20 percent from 1980 to the mid 1990's. But metro area water needs essentially remained unchanged. How? A modern plumbing code, rates designed to encourage conservation, and other innovative strategies. In fact, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the City of Santa Monica, CA, and the City of Houston, TX all have demonstrated that thrifty -- more sustainable -- use of water actually grows and strengthens the economy for businesses, homowners, and governments alike.
