More Fouled Streams, Rivers Deepen Wisconsin Water Crisis

I'd written recently on this blog and in the Journal Sentinel's Sunday Crossroads section that Wisconsin waters - - though held in trust for all the people by the State Constitution - - were in crisis from political mismanagement, neglect and downright attack by state government..

The evidence was a string of new laws, proposals and administrative actions serving special interests since Scott Walker took office that removed or weakened protections for ground water, surface water, shorelines, construction sites, wetlands and woodlands that help hold and filter precipitation.

Now comes a stunning story by Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel - - that more than 150 additional state bodies of water are so polluted they will be added to a list of impaired waterways needing fixing - - and that Walker tried unsuccessfully to 'address' the problem by holding up the implementation of state rules aimed at reducing levels of phosphorus run-off - - one of the main pollutants in impaired waterways making the list.

This is the same state and agency - - the DNR - - that says it can and will protect the Bad River and all surrounding waters from acid mine runoff at the proposed open pit iron mine near Lake Superior.

The same state by legislators who won't discuss why they are, for example, banning citizens who now have that right from challenging high-volume well permits.

The state's history and economy are tightly connected to clean, accessible water, just as plentiful ground water is tied to healthy streams, rivers and lakes on the surface.

Ignoring and tampering with such basic science and policies imperil everything from healthy drinking water to successful tourism to productive business recruitment and job retention.

Is the goal to make Wisconsin an imperiled and impaired water state?