Hunter Lake is still the dumbest idea in Springfield

I can't believe I still have to write about this. Hunter Lake is the dumbest idea going Springfield. Here's why:

1) There are good reasons why the permits were never approved last time and they still won't be approved after more money is wasted trying again. New dams like this one aren't getting built anymore. Anywhere.

2) Water usage is growing nowhere near the growth estimates CWLP used to demonstrate a supposed need. Water efficiency programs are working. And no, those programs have nothing to do with watering your lawn or washing your car.

3) The biggest water hogs in Springfield are the older coal power plants. They have a limited lifespan. When the two oldest coal boilers shut down then water usage will drop. A LOT. Which means there's zero need for a new Hunter mud flat.

4) Sunk cost fallacy. The fact that a lot of money has already been wasted on a bad idea is not a good reason to waste even more. I learned this in my freshman microeconomics course.

There's no good reason to waste millions more on a project nobody needs. Hunter Lake is nothing but a pork barrel project to make money for those who will finance and build it at taxpayer expense. It serves no other purpose.

Turn the land into a top notch nature area instead so Springfield will finally benefit from getting out of this foolish moneypit. We might even recover some of our losses down the road by selling the land to the Department of Natural Resources.

Mayor Houston should keep his word and stop wasting money on Hunter Dam

During the election, Springfield Mayor Mike Houston said something sensible about the proposed Hunter Dam. It's time to fish or cut bait. If the project is rejected by the Corps of Engineers again, he believed the city should cut its losses instead of relaunching the costly process of more studies and applications.

“If they’re going to make us go back and start redoing them, then I think it’s time to probably pull the plug on the second lake,” Houston said.

And here we are. Hunter dam was rejected by state and federal regulators yet again. But, some on the city council still haven't accepted reality and are trying to revive it. Keeping this bad idea alive will mean doing another series of environmental studies and starting the costly years-long process of getting approval from scratch. Houston should keep his word. It's time to let it go.

CWLP may be able to fool the city council with a comically flawed study of the alternatives. Attempting the same stunt with EPA and the Corps of Engineers would be a foolish waste of time and money. 

The biggest water hog in Springfield is CWLP's coal power plants. New federal pollution rules will require CWLP  (probably within the next five years) to either 1) shut down their older Dallman 1 & 2 coal units which date back to the 60's and early 70's, or 2) convert them to natural gas, or 3) spend millions upgrading pollution controls on plants that are already near the end of their lifespan. Thanks Obama! The newer Dallman 4 plant is less water intensive than the aging units. 

Shutting down or converting the older coal units will make CWLP's estimate of their supposed water needs obsolete. In the near future, the city will nearly eliminate the primary reason hunter dam was proposed: keeping Lake Springfield water levels high enough for the now-obsolete coal power plants. 

An ordinance to revive Hunter Dam is on the agenda for Tuesday's city council meeting. Citizens will be there in opposition Tuesday, March 4, 5pm at the Municipal Center West. You can submit this form in advance if you'd like to speak.

Just because a small group of people figured out a way to make lots of money on a project nobody needs, doesn't obligate city taxpayers to waste more money going down a dead-end road.