Idea of national water commission gives Great Lakes states the jitters

From The Grand Rapids Press, reactions from Michigan regarding Georgia representative John Linder’s proposal for to establish a national water commission:

Any talk of a national water policy raises the specter of Southwestern cities and Southeastern peanut farmers looking to somehow stick a straw in the Great Lakes.

The political landscape does not favor Michigan or the other Great Lakes states. Government projections hold that at least 36 states will face a water shortage within five years. The Southeast and Southwest are in the grip of droughts that show no sign of relenting, and could grow worse if scientists are even half right about the expected effects of global climate change.

The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world’s fresh water, and 90 percent of the fresh water in the United States, making them natural targets for dry areas. Michigan and the rest of the Rust Belt continue to lose population to these sapped sectors. Even as the southern tier’s water decreases, however, its population and proportional representation in Congress grow.

That’s precisely why Mr. Ehlers and Rep. Candice Miller, R-Macomb County, are concerned. If the nation’s water policy gets handed over to a congressional body, Michigan — the only state entirely within the Great Lakes basin — stands to lose, and big.

To read the full text of this commentary from the Grand Rapids Press, click here.

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