Water Plan Aims to Help Jobs Flow

Milwaukee, With an Abundant Supply, Seeks to Offer Discounts to Businesses

By JOE BARRETT
The Wall Street Journal

MILWAUKEE -- This city has been selling the world Lake Michigan water for decades. It just mixed in a little hops and barley first.

Now, the nation's onetime brewing capital is trying to use its abundant water supply the way other towns use tax credits and highway ramps: as a lure for new businesses, particularly big users of water such as beverage makers and food processors.

Milwaukee is preparing an application for the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that would offer reduced water rates for up to five years to businesses that bring in at least 25 jobs. Milwaukee would be joining Erie, Pa., which has been offering a 40% discount on Lake Erie water to businesses that relocate to or expand in the city for more than a year.

"Our whole city was built around rivers and the lake," says Mayor Tom Barrett, a two-term Democrat who recently announced a gubernatorial bid, as his sport-utility vehicle sped toward the site of a former car-chassis plant that could benefit from the proposal. "It's our history, our culture and our recreation. So why not take advantage of that to revitalize our economy?"

Fresh water is growing scarce around the globe, and many people are betting that the Great Lakes' abundant supply will become increasingly valuable. But since water is usually far down on a company's list of reasons for relocating, some business experts are skeptical about how successful Milwaukee will be.

"It's a good idea on its surface," says Thomas Lyons, a business professor at the City University of New York's Baruch College, who has written numerous books on economic development. "But I'm not convinced it's going to have a major impact on the economic development of the city. More here.