Commentaries

St. Louis has always had a love-hate relationship with the Mississippi River.  The city depends on the river for its very existence. Yet we cursed the river for giving us too little water last fall and we now curse it for giving us too much.  As is the case with so many of life’s mysteries, we need to look to poetry for insights into our complicated relationship with our river.

Seventy years ago, St. Louis native T. S. Eliot wrote The Dry Salvages, which opens with the lines:

Research has told us, over and over, that the benefits of early childhood education are significant.  Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. James Heckman asserts that early childhood education improves the productivity of both our children and society.    

On a recent trip to Ojai, California, I visited the Ojai Valley Museum and was pleasantly treated to an installation entitled "Luster vs. Raku" that featured an oversized chess board of sculpted equine pieces finished with Beatrice Wood's famed luster glaze. Wood was known for her shimmering pots and long, extraordinary life as both a ceramicist and theatrical character in the arts. She was also known for her connection to the famous Dada artist, Marcel Duchamp.

(Editors note: Scroll down for Veolia's response to this commentary)

Water is our most essential shared resource. The quality of our water relates directly to our health and the well-being of our city. 

Public reinvestment and political commitment to public water is critical. St. Louis does face real challenges. We need to address the declining population, increasing environmental management issues and especially our need to reinvest in our aging water infrastructure.  

Innovation comes from the private sector. You don’t have to be a radical capitalist to agree with that simple truth.  For example, a private inventor, not a government water company, devised the water meter.   St. Louis residents will benefit from the proposed consulting deal with a private company to improve the city’s water division.