"When the well is dry,
we know the worth of water." Ben Franklin stated that in 1746. That was
made all too real for approximately 500,000 in the greater-Toledo area last
summer, when they could not drink their water for three days. Here in Avon
Lake, we asked you to cut back on unnecessary usage at the onset of subzero
temps—not the same, but not something we like asking you to do.
Some ask why I promote water
conservation—irrigating only when necessary,
keeping grass longer to shade roots, filling
clothes and dishwashers before using them, installing efficient appliances…
After all, the more you conserve water, the less revenue we receive.
I promote water conservation
because I want to help break something called the "paradox of value (or the diamond-water paradox)."
The philosopher Adam Smith wrote in 1776, "Nothing is more useful than
water: but it will purchase scarcely anything; scarcely anything can be had in
exchange for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarcely any use-value; but a
very great quantity of other goods may frequently be had in exchange for
it."
Nearly 240 years later, the
same is still true. Water is something without which we will die. Yet, it costs
less than a penny a day to get all you need to drink—about a dollar a day for
the average family's needs—and that includes the costs to treat it and put it
back into Lake Erie after you are done with it.
I want you to believe that is
your best dollar spent each day. For that dollar per day, we are:
- Removing algal toxins and other contaminants from the water we take
from Lake Erie in order for you to drink high-quality tap water that meets
all EPA standards;
- Treating wastewater so that the water may be safely returned to the
lake per EPA standards;
- Maintaining and safeguarding the system to keep your water flowing
without interruption, even during water main breaks.
During the recent past and
foreseeable future, we will be continuing
incremental rate increases to pay for new projects to make the drinking
water system more resilient to icing, algae, and other issues; to improve the
quality of treatment at the wastewater plant to reduce our contribution to Lake
Erie algae; and to separate sewers to
reduce the frequency and amount of untreated sewage overflowing into the lake,
which should help improve water quality at Veterans Beach and elsewhere.
