Dan Katt, co-owner of Good City Brewing, welcomed the crowd of more than two hundred to the freshwater capital, otherwise known as Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“We are able to enjoy one of the benefits of having great access to freshwater, and that is great beer,” said Katt. “And Good City Brewing was intentionally located about three blocks from the Great Lakes, just over the hill.”
To show his bipartisan support on this issue, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett borrowed a line from Lee Dreyfus, the former Republican governor of Wisconsin.
“Dreyfus said he didn’t mind if people take water out of Lake Michigan, as long as it is in containers smaller than 16 ounces and it is fermented at the time. And what better place than Good City Brewing to discuss that?” said Mayor Barrett. “So if people want to use our water for that purpose, we are all for it. But we do not want to see any major extractions that violate the Great Lakes Water Compact.”
Water Week was a chance for the City of Milwaukee to showcase all the tremendous work that has been going on around the issue of water resources. The initiative was part of a campaign to keep elevating the profile of the city as a world leader in freshwater science technology.