Wisconsin scored the highest ranking amongst fellow Great Lakes region states in a report that evaluates water efficiency. Wisconsin scored highest with a B-, while Minnesota received a C+, New York a C, both Illinois and Indiana a C-, and Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania all tied for the lowest score of a D. The Water Efficiency and Conservation State Scorecard: An Assessment of Laws and Policies is published by the Alliance for Water Efficiency, a non-profit group, and the Environmental Law Institute, a legal consulting firm.
The report's introduction states, "The intention behind adding the report and assigning grades is to create concise and useful information, and to bring attention to exemplary policies that may be used as models for other states to emulate." According to the report, "Wisconsin received top points for their broadly applicable water conservation planning requirements" and goes on to conclude that Wisconsin "represents how water conservation planning can vary by source; Wisconsin has one generally applicable planning process for public water suppliers, and another planning process only applicable to large withdrawers from the Great Lakes Basin." Wisconsin was granted high marks for the access to technical assistance provided as well as its water conservation planning.
Certainly Wisconsin's success is worth mentioning, but fellow Great Lakes states who share the region's water resources may be more cause for pause and redoubling of our efforts to strive together to improve our collective scores.
Read the entire The Water Efficiency and Conservation State Scorecard here
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