Kohler, WI and Lake Michigan: An Obvious Watershed or An Obvious Water Pollution Site
In Kohler, WI, my watershed would be considered the Sheboygan River in small, but this eventually drains into the main large watershed of my area, Lake Michigan. I would believe that most of my family and friends who have lived a majority of their life in Kohler would be aware of this watershed knowledge since these are really the only two possibilities for a watershed in the area. The other bodies of water are manmade or simply not large enough to act as a watershed. Lastly, the fame of Lake Michigan and purely its size makes it very apparent how important such a large body of fresh water is to its bordering communities.
To first address how I interact with my watershed comes from a personal standpoint of boating, fishing, surfing, and swimming in Lake Michigan on summer days. During the colder months, it consists of taking lake drives along its shoreline to appreciate the beauty of the lake in Kohler’s backyard. However, the question of where my shower water ends up and knowing it ends up in Lake Michigan makes me begin to question if I really want to be completing my recreational activities there, especially if everyone's shower water ends up there too. Unfortunately, I know that it is more than shower water that ends up there as the large factory of the Kohler Company is historically known to put their pollution and waste into the Sheboygan River which drains into the greater Lake Michigan body of water. The problem is that the person who makes decisions about where the water waste goes from the town of Kohler and the Kohler Company is the same person who owns the village and enterprise, Mr. Kohler. He is more concerned with the success, revenue, and perception of the company and town compared to the well-being of aquatic life and the health of the water overall. There have been protests and constant violations of the amount of pollution entering the local watersheds in Kohler, WI. The Kohler Company is one of the largest privately-owned companies in the United States that sells its products on a global scale. With this, mass pollution occurs that must be disposed of in the air, land, and water areas surrounding the massive factory in Kohler.
As a result of the Kohler Company, many Kohler residents are employed and paid well by the employer. This results in Kohler being a zero poverty town where every household and person has running water. This of course means I grew up with running water. My life without running water would completely change how I currently live. My life would move slower as getting access to water would take longer and I would most likely use less water due to cherishing the clean water I have more. I think this proves how water conservation needs to be addressed more as when people have easy access to a resource, such as water in my community, we take it for granted and use it as we please ignoring the consequences of overusing it and forgetting about the people who do not have the access we do to running water.
Sources:
https://www.swmpc.org/lake_mi.asp#:~:text=Lake%20Michigan%20is%20the%203rd,Joseph%20River%20and%20many%20others.
Hi Kate!
ReplyDeleteYour post was truly eye-opening; I feel as if it encompassed the very issue facing the US right now. I think that the environmental concerns of some are overshadowed by the economic gain of others. This issue that you mention in your post goes beyond the scope of conservation and ecology as social inequities and injustice is also at the forefront. In a town like Kohler, which is very unique in its demographic, I can imagine that it would be difficult to act against the Kohler company. My grandparents live in Sheboygan, WI and they both worked at Kohler Co, so I am familiar with the business and their practices. Personal association aside, it is deeply saddening to witness another business exploit not only the environment, but also the community. Great post!
Good post Kate! I grew up near to Sheboygan and Kohler is a big name. It's astonishing how such a famous company can be the cause of such legacy pollution issues.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, Kohler was recently embroiled in another ecological controversy with the proposed Kohler Hills golf course (link to the EIS about it below). The proposed golf site would have destroyed some of the last remaining dune sites in Wisconsin and the associated rare wetland types. I believe the project fell through due to a land dispute more than ecological concerns, but it's an example of economic interests at conflict with local preservation efforts.
https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EIA/documents/Kohler/KohlerFinalEISpublicNHC.pdf