A BETTER USE OF STIMULUS $$$: FIX OUR SEWAGE AND WATER PROBLEMS
A legislative column by state Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin)
The budget repair bill/stimulus package that was rammed through the State Legislature and quickly signed into law was ideally supposed to create jobs. Instead, state lawmakers opted to take the gigantic pot from Washington and use it to account for existing spending by offsetting the current budget crisis.
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates that the majority of Wisconsin’s stimulus money, upwards of $2 billion is going to education and health care. It is hard to imagine the package approved will actually stimulate the state economy and bring new jobs.
If we cannot use the stimulus money in ways that would actually stimulate the economy, then it should be used on infrastructure. The stimulus money should be used for one-time projects or on projects with a life long enough that they are almost one-time. Here is an example: Wastewater, raw sewage problems in Lake Michigan and elsewhere in Wisconsin.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) prepares a report card that assesses 15 separate categories of the country’s infrastructure. Out of all the categories examined by the ASCE, Wisconsin ranked the worst in roads, drinking water, and wastewater. We need to invest where we are failing the worst and with a concretely fixable return in health,efficiency, and effectiveness for all residents of Wisconsin.
We in Wisconsin are all too familiar with water problems. Our water in various areas of the state are questionably unsafe. Uncontrollable contamination of Lake Michigan is profoundly reckless.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the following on May 29, 2004: “The sewerage district dumped an unprecedented 4.6 billion gallons of raw sewage in May—exceeding any annual dumping tally since the deep tunnel system opened in late 1993. To visualize how much sewage was dumped by the district, consider these calculations: The 4.6 billion gallons would fill Miller Park 15 times over, from its base to its retractable roof. The sewage spill would also fill the U.S. Bank office tower on the lakefront 41 times.”
While Wisconsin's state government is expected to receive $3 billion in stimulus money, the Washington-based Center for American Progress reports that Wisconsin could get a total of $9.2 billion, with the rest being spent direct from the federal government. A news article from the Milwaukee Journal sentinel during March 2006 indicates the cost to separate Milwaukee's combined sewers, thus eliminating raw sewage in Lake Michigan, is $8.8 billion. How about using the stimulus money to keep raw sewage out of Lake Michigan?
Ah, but one might say the stimulus money has strings attached and is floating through bureaucracies helter-skelter. Both Governor Tommy Thompson and Governor Jim Doyle have been very successful at getting federal waivers and using federal money in interesting ways. If that is what it takes, let Governor Doyle and Madison Democrats get in contact with Congressman Dave Obey and others about at least putting stimulus money to good purpose.
On October 7, 2004, Water & Wastes Digest reported a stunning discovery about the quality of drinking water in La Crosse: “Prior to its chlorination, viruses from human sources occur in the LaCrosse, Wisc., groundwater used for the municipal drinking water supply, a new report revealed. Although the city's treated water meets or exceeds state and federal standards for drinking water, researchers and public health officials agree that more study is needed to pinpoint the exact sources of the viruses and to determine if some viruses are surviving the chlorination process.”
The 2003 ASCE Report Card on Infrastructure commended Wisconsin for management of municipal wastewater. However, the ASCE added this conclusion: “Significant investments in this infrastructure will be required to maintain this position and to address pending and likely future regulations and requirements.”
The same 2003 ASCE Report Card reported this about Wisconsin’s municipal wastewater treatment plants: “In year 2000, 19 plants, about 2.8%, were rated as requiring improvements and 131 plants, about 19.5%, were rated as requiring some action. Estimated future needs through 2020 exceed $3.35 billion, while actual project funding has been less than $100 million per year.”
That brings us back to the state stimulus package that was approved in just a matter of days. Note the ASCE pinpointed the cost of addressing future wastewater needs at $3.35 billion. The state of Wisconsin expects to receive just under $4 billion in stimulus money from Washington. A better use of that money would be to invest where we are failing worst and that is concretely fixable.
Compared to all other states we are failing the citizens of Wisconsin in providing access to clean safe drinking water and a safe waste disposal system more than any other infrastructure/education/healthcare category. We can fix our water safety, preserve a coveted resource, reduce unemployment, and repair our infrastructure. The federal government should not be taking billions of dollars of our tax money putting us horribly in debt, and throwing it around the country like Christmas presents. The best use of Wisconsin's share of the stimulus money is direct relief to taxpayers by eliminating income or sales taxes to the tune of the stimulus money. Absent direct relief to taxpayers, the best use is to invest in our water and sewage system.
If you have comments on this or any other issue, please contact me at Sen.Lazich@legis.wisconsin.gov, www.SenatorLazich.com, Senator Mary Lazich, State Capitol, P.O. Box 7882 Madison, WI 53707 or 1-800-334-1442.
