See reason at Saratoga Lake
One of the oddities of the water-supply debate in Saratoga County is that it is the purportedly conservative Republicans who are pushing an expensive biggovernment solution, while the supposedly liberal Democrats favor the much cheaper and simpler option of tapping Saratoga Lake.
Even more odd is the attitude of many landowners around the lake, whose representatives have been vehement in opposing use of it for the Saratoga Springs water supply. That would mean the end of recreation on the lake, they said, even though lakes of similar size, such as Lake Placid, are used as a water supply without affecting boating or other recreation. (Although the use of any lake — e.g. Lake George — for drinking water does help protect it by raising awareness of the need to avoid contamination.)
Last week, the state Health Department said using Saratoga Lake water for the city would have no effect on recreation use, but it remains to be seen if this expression of common sense will have any more effect than previous ones on overcoming irrational prejudice.
The real threat to Saratoga Lake is ongoing development of its watershed, which threatens to increase pollution and worsen water quality. The threat would be made much worse by the big-government solution, pumping water from the Hudson in Moreau through much of the county. That plan of the county Republicans would open the way to more sprawl development, increasing already strong development pressure. It would mean more farms being paved over and forest cut down, and more pollution runoff into the lake.
Rep. John Sweeney should not be delivering millions in federal funding to pay a small fraction of the cost of this boondoggle. Nor should Republicans in Saratoga Springs be trying to saddle their constituents with this big-spending, high-cost plan, as opposed to the much more easily accomplished and environmentally friendly Saratoga Lake solution.
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