Rural Waukesha County Vanishing by James Rowen
A good piece on the negative effects of local urban sprawl. For those who would say "people should be able to live where they want," I would say that's all fine and good except don't expect the rest of us to build you sewers and roads to get there then. Since Waukesha has been so shortsighted in their planning, they've suddenly discovered they're running out of water. Their options are digging for new wells in the Waukesha area or turning to Milwaukee for city water. However, since most of the county is beyond the subcontinental divide, it currently is unable to obtain Milwaukee water by law.
I see no reason to open the door to giving water to communities west of the divide since elected officials from the affected western suburbs and exurbs have shown little ability to conserve the resources those areas already have.
posted by Scott @ 11:00 AM
3 Comments:
If Waukesha County agrees to drop its self-indulgent request for a wider interstate (by means of tearing through Milwaukee neighborhoods) and instead consents to a more intelligent transportation plan (that would include light-rail or another mass-transit option) along the I-94 corridor, only then would I agree to give them some water. They can ship the barrels by means of the new commuter service.
I would also request that the western county give an occasion empathic vote for the interests of Milwaukee (the heart and soul of southern Wisconsin) instead of always being so damn egocentric when it comes to voting on policies that could greatly benefit urban neighborhoods.
I used to live in the City of Waukesha, and I can have some sympathy for the city itself, as the water there is literally radioactive (naturally occurring) and they need to find new sources. Many of the houses there are pre-sprawl (ours was 120 years old).
HOWEVER: The people who build and build and build on former farmland and then complain about highway congestion and lack of safe water and other problems that come with unfettered development...well...I have no sympathy for them.
I agree Stacie since I'm a former resident of Waukesha too. Grew up there and graduated from South high school. It's a shame, because I think it's lost a lot of the charm that it had when I was a kid. There is some good stuff going on with downtown redevelopment there, but the shit sprawl has got to stop if they expect any cooperation with other government entities to help them out with things like contaminated water.
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