CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Polling is broken. Political polls for the last two election cycles gave wildly inaccurate results. They are often at a distinct variance with the one poll that matters, on Election Day.
But let’s take this poll at face value. Last month Gallop asked people what the number one problem in their daily lives is. “The Government” came in first, at 21-percent. “Inflation and the economy” was second, 15-percent. “Illegal immigration and border security” was third, 11-percent.
The ‘Get The Lead Out’ initiative, which Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg took part in, is the latest example of government is the problem. If you own a home in Wausau, your life was proceeding normally until your government told you that you had a problem: lead pipes. If your home was built in the 1940s or earlier, you probably have a lead service line that connects off the water main. If you’ve had plumbing work done since 1998, the connections and welding material used to join the pipes may also have lead, but we’re told that’s not the problem… for now.
Replacing lead service leads is expensive, about $10,000 per home.
But have no fear, the federal government is releasing tons of COVID money to help. Perhaps your unpleasant surprise will cost you only half of that. Again, to solve a problem that you didn’t have until the government involved itself. Only a moron thinks, ‘wow, what a bargain… I’m solving a problem I didn’t even know I have for half the price!’
And, as always, the government comes up with the most expensive solution. They will also require sewer leads to be replaced. Obviously once water enters the sewage system, it is no longer used for drinking. But we are told we must eliminate ‘backwash’ from entering the drinking water. (Backwash, of course, is nonexistent. When I flush my toilet or have my dishwasher water go down the drain, it is not ever coming out of the tap again.) But we are told that only a totally lead-free water system is acceptable.
Wausau is one of about 100 cities that are part of the get-the-lead-out partnership. What our local leaders forget is that no one is cheering as our mayor traipses off to Washington to get her lead-free instructions. The rest of us, back in the real world, wonder why our city would subject itself, voluntarily, to this new and expensive partnership. We are hoping that lead service lead rules never come. Perhaps someday a more reasonable Administration will be charge and the ban-your-gas-stove crowd will no longer be in power. Maybe a court will rule that ordering these changes is beyond the congressional authority that was granted to the executive branch. Even if a homeowner was paranoid over lead in their drinking water, they’d drink bottled water or install their own filtration system before forking over their $10,000.
But Wausau’s leaders are busy little beavers, solving the government’s new problem. The city has hired a consultant.
Chris Conley
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