Metro area is overusing groundwater, planner warns

“We can’t preserve our lakes, wetlands, rivers, and streams if we continue to take water out of the ground at the increasing rate that we are. It’s that simple…The notion that the region’s abundant and relatively cheap water supply is limitless, and therefore disposable, will cost us dearly if we don’t change our philosophy and behaviors.”

The quotes are from Ali Elhassan, the Metropolitan Council’s top water planner, who has been urging metro communities to reduce their use of groundwater and to rely more on our rivers for day-to-day water use. Read his warnings for the future in a Met Council newsletter.