Over Our Heads During A Drought

     It's hard for me to understand the way a politician thinks sometimes, actually all of the time. Once again our fearless leaders of Austin have taken a good look at our shrinking budget, inability to keep schools open, and layoffs of municipal workers and decided now would be a good time to build a BILLION dollar water treatment plant. When my parents taught me about money management, one of the things they told me was when the money gets tight you do without until your finances get back on track. Obviously this is a lesson that wasn't received well by our city leaders.
     In a report written by resource activist Paul Robbins called "Read It and Leak", Paul states that by diverting the funds from the water plant project to merely fixing all the broken and aging city water pipes that we currently have the city would save approximately four billion gallons a year. He also states that the current restriction on days you can water has been a success and that even when the policy is not in effect that water consumption remains lowered due to the lasting impression in the mind the policy tends to leave.
     If the prospect of saving the resources that we have doesn't directly speak to you and you think that spending the money in Austin to help stimulate jobs takes priority then maybe the financial aspect just might grab your attention. Before the plant has even been finished there has been a twenty five percent increase in Austinites bills. City council member Bill Spelman posted a report that indicates that in order to pay for the plant that isn't even needed,our water bills will continue to increase seventy percent over the next five years.
      The one glaring issue that is being overlooked is how is this plant going to save us water? In an area where it seems like water is a more precious resource than gold, you would think that conservation, updating current facilities, and emphasis on installation of low water landscapes should be the focus of our leaders. Well sadly it is not, but hopefully through public out cry and the works of men like Paul Robbins we can help stop the "Billion dollar mistake on the lake."

Bill Spelman report
Read It and Leak report with data