I am writing about “Testing the waters,” which was published in the Tribune on April 27.

I applaud you on writing this article and getting a balanced view of the issues concerning water as a driver for economic development.

However, I was disappointed the activities occurring at Marquette were not mentioned.

Marquette University is a member of the M-7 Water Council and is very active in various water activities in the region. For example:

1. University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild is a member of the board of directors for the M-7 Water Council.

2. The Law School has developed a water law curriculum and hosted several world-class seminars and symposia related to water over the past year.

3. Marquette is a partner with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a recently awarded National Science Foundation Industry/University Collaborative Research Center on Water Equipment and Policy.

I have one other point I would like to make. While I appreciate the legitimate points of view regarding the efficacy of promoting Milwaukee’s water resources as a driver for economic development, I take great umbrage with the quote attributed to Marc Levine concerning Rich Meeusen, the CEO of Badger Meter: “I don’t want Rich Meeusen … standing over the shoulders of the scientists telling them what would be in the best interest of economic development.”

This statement is absurd. I have worked closely with Meeusen over the past three years, and he has no intention of such.

He has been a selfless, tireless worker, building and supporting the M-7 Water Council. He deserves our respect and gratitude for these efforts.

Michael Switzenbaum is an executive associate dean in the College of Engineering.