Think twice about Lake Michigan water

Great news for taxpayers! Local governments seeking Lake Michigan water allocation are pausing to consider what's at stake financially. It's only common sense to be concerned about fronting large sums of money for unspecified costs the county doesn't want to pay for while contemplating how to convince your residents doing so is a good idea with our challenged economy, especially when there are no guarantees they'll even get water.

While the county is actively working on legislative language in Springfield which will allow them jurisdiction to regulate at the municipal level as they do unincorporated areas, there's an absence of purposeful corresponding plans for water conservation and water quality initiatives. This legislation will assure profits to labor unions contracted for new infrastructure.

Plans should include assurances to taxpayers that conservation can save and protect resources and their checkbooks while creating profits and jobs for others.

Taxpayers should be cautious in believing county officials and staff have done their due diligence claiming possible water shortages. County engineers note 60 percent of Lake County already has Lake Michigan water while county pols project growth as much as 35 percent by 2050. You can't push an agenda for growth and not have the resources to back it up. Lake Michigan water is that guarantee for development funded by additional taxes to homeowners simply because it's there for the taking.

Conservation and protection of our precious natural resources is vitally important to present and future generations. Career politician county board members are not who should be managing water plans when they aren't responsibly managing what we already have.

Taxpayers should be insisting on parallel conservation, reclamation and sustainable development before consent is given by the IDNR to those who hold the future of county and Lake Michigan water resources in their hands.

Sarah Powers

Mundelein