New Berlin deserves water

[GLF]

City of Milwaukee officials are upset that they were unaware of an application by New Berlin to obtain Lake Michigan water for the western portion of that city. And Milwaukee officials have good reason to be upset; they should have been made aware of the application, especially since it's from a city to which Milwaukee is already supplying water. As one official put it in an e-mail to us, "We can't talk if we're not at the table."

Nevertheless, New Berlin's request for water has merit and should not be dismissed out of hand. The bottom line on taking water out of the natural basin of the Great Lakes is that, generally speaking, it should not be allowed unless it is returned to the basin. New Berlin, already a client of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, returns its wastewater to the lake. As long as there are no other environmental issues at stake, New Berlin should get the water.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=454055