Water Quality Task Force

If you haven’t already heard, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos formed a water quality task force in response to drinking water problems all over the state – including the devastating news that 42 percent of wells in southwest Wisconsin contain harmful chemicals or manure or both.

That task force is coming to Janesville next week, and we need you to stand up for your water.

Just last year the Janesville Gazette headline read: “Elevated levels of lead found in 40 water sources in Janesville elementary schools.”

According to the Rock County Public Health Department, 1 out of 6 wells there tested positive for bacteria, and 1 in 3 wells tested unsafe for nitrates.

That’s unacceptable. That’s wrong. And that can no longer be tolerated. Period.

Thanks to you, the drinking water crisis is finally at the doorsteps of every Wisconsin lawmaker. Just months ago, it would have been unimaginable to hear Speaker Vos say, “Wisconsinites deserve to have safe, clean, and healthy water.”

It’s good that everyone is finally at the table, but we need more than talk.

The lawmakers on the task force need to hear your personal stories. They must act to make drinking water safe in Janesville, Rock County, and all of Wisconsin.

With your help, we can use each one of the 12 hearings across Wisconsin to build momentum. The more pressure we put on the task force and our legislators, the more success we will have inside the Capitol and at the ballot box.

It’s up to conservation voters like you to make sure legislators get the message loud and clear: it’s time to move beyond the talk and make sure we are reducing the pollution that is getting into our water.

Join us Wednesday, May 29, at 10:30 a.m. at Blackhawk Technical College, 6004 S County Road G, in Janesville. The hearing will take place in Room 1400B - North Common.

Check out our website for more details about the task force including a full agenda, a guide on how to prepare, and helpful tips on what to say. If you need more information or assistance, email me at kate@conservationvoters.org