Owasco Lake finally has a full-time advocate with the hiring this week of Jessica Miles as watershed inspector.

We appreciate the cooperation between representatives from New York, Cayuga County, Owasco and Auburn in making this position a reality, and we urge Miles to make her new job a visible and vocal one.

The quality of the water in Owasco Lake affects all of us in one way or another. More than 45,000 in the county depend on the lake as their source for drinking water, and the sports, recreation and scenic beauty of the lake and its shoreline not only draw visitors to the region but are an important part of the quality of life here.

Simply looking at the number of people who turn out for public hearings when lake issues are being discussed tells us that there is a great appetite by the public for news about water quality and other issues affecting Owasco Lake.

As lake steward, Miles will be in a unique position to explain what's going on in language the average person can understand. It would be a great disservice to the local citizenry if this position turns into yet another bureaucratic office, where reports are sent between various agencies, with the public being left largely uninformed.

The county had an economic development position not long ago that turned out to be a very quiet office, as far as the public was concerned. Worse yet, when the grant money ran out after one year, the position vanished.

We're encouraged that a funding formula was required to be in place before the state grant money could be released for the watershed inspector position and we expect this position to continue for as many years as the taxpayers and the municipalities involved feel it's warranted.

We hope Miles will be able to make a positive impact, and we ask that she keep us all informed along the way.