The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Hawthorne reports that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is mulling over whether to privatize water. Currently the city Dept. of Water Management controls the treated water from Lake Michigan that is sent to the taps/showers of every Chicagoan. Daley is thinking of leasing the system to a corporate operator as a way raise some quick cash for the city.

The medium of blogging is perhaps too focused on brevity to explain the many, many, many pitfalls of privatizing water. So here’s three: basically every other big city that tried it said it was a disaster. Atlanta fought in 2003 to end their lease with a corporate operator. Also, Chicago has just spent the past year politically focused on the disastrous 75-year, $1 billion lease of the city’s parking meter. The fiasco over the lease’s cost and getting the meters to work has sunk the normally infallible Daley to a 35 percent approval rating.

Finally, Chicago has really good water! It’s, of course, the benefit of being by Lake Michigan. Also, the water is cheap: 30 percent less the cost than even in neighboring suburbs. Leasing the system jeopardizes an elemental part of local government that is proven to work.

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