We must treat water as precious resource

Every time I see a news story about the Northern Illinois Lake Michigan Water Planning Group, my blood boils. I love the word "Planning." If you want to see what this is really about, get a good sample reading the Lindenhurst village website. It says, "Even if the village decided to build new wells, their useful life expectancy is limited due to the continued depletion of the underground aquifers." In the very next sentence it says, "Studies show that Lake Michigan water is the most cost-effective, long-term solution to our drinking water needs."

I love that "needs" part. According to the compact that regulates the diversion of Lake Michigan water, this group of county and municipal governments are supposed to demonstrate some awareness of the concept of conservation. Look up these folks online. They have no serious plan in place to conserve water. Their "plan" is to grab more water. This is the attitude that got us in this mess in the first place. You can't continue to sprawl, use more and more water, use it all up and expect to be granted the privilege of grabbing someone else's water. This is all about continued thoughtless growth and money. It is not what it should be about: accepting the reality that we must deal with water becoming so "precious" (as I read on one municipalities site) that we must conserve water, change the way we use it, and do both locally and regionally.

If you don't do that, there is no way Lake Michigan water should be diverted. It will just end up going down the drain.

Scott Frillman

Antioch