I used to wonder whether Pat Mulroy, head of a development corporation known as the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ever had plans to look beyond our state’s scraggly little borders for water — you know, long after the authority’s pipeline had turned Lincoln and White Pine counties into wizened, formerly quaint scabs to keep Southern Nevada growing. Nawwww, I thought. I mean, the water czar’s aggressive and forward-thinking — if tragically wrongheaded — and all that, but not that aggressive, forward-thinking and tragically wrongheaded, right?

Now I’m not so sure. Because clearly our water-rich neighbors in the northeast must have smelled some pretty rank conquistador dreams on the wind in order to do this: Circle their wagons vise-tight around their precious Great Lakes — which hold 90 percent of the nation’s fresh surface water — in order to pre-empt any attempted water grabs from us parched Southwesterners. Yesterday, Wisconsin was the fifth state to formally join an eight-state compact to protect their lakes from would-be water thieves.

Suuuuurely Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle couldn’t possibly be suspicious of li’l ol’ us, could he? In a word, helllllllyeah:

The pact was motivated largely by fears that states such as Arizona and Nevada in the booming but arid Southwest will try tapping into the lakes, which hold 90 percent of the nation’s fresh surface water.

”People are already looking enviously at this water,” Doyle said. ”The Great Lakes define this region, and their waters sustain our recreation, our way of life, and our economy.”

Even Canada emerged from its cheerful torpor to take notice, with Quebec and Ontario signing on to the anti-water-deportation compact as well.

When you see the press release about the water authority announcing its immediate invasion of New Wisconsivania Oyorkio, don’t say I didn’t call it.