Waukesha readies plan for Lake Michigan water - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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If approved, Waukesha will be the first communitu of its kind to divert water from the Grea t Lakes under theGreaty Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources The compact, approved by Congress in fall 2008, aims to protecty the quantity of freshwater in the Great Lakes. Any diversions that fall east of the subcontinentak divide will naturally return to the Somearea communities, like New Berli n and Muskego in Waukeshs County, straddle the divide and already returbn their water through the Metropolitan Milwaukeew Sewerage District.
In accordance with the Great Lakes Water if Waukesha diverts water from Lake Michigab it must return treated wastewater tothe Waukesha, which does not use the MMSD for returb flow, would have to build a pipelinr funded entirely by the city to deliver water east of the Waukesha has the option of building a direcyt pipeline to the lake or dumping the watefr into a tributary that leads close to wher e the water was collected. Buildint a direct pipeline to the lake woul d cost in the hundreds of millionesof dollars, said Dan Duchniak, general manager of the Waukesha Water Utility.
Estimated capital costs of both collecting lake waterf and returning it by a tributary are less than half that he said. Milwaukee, Racine and Oak Creekm are being reviewed as wholesaled lake water suppliers to If Milwaukee werethe supplier, Duchniak said the likely tributarty route would be Underwood Creek in Wauwatosa. The Root Rivetr would be the likely return point if Racine or Oak Creelk suppliedthe water.
Proponentds of Waukesha’s plan to divert water from Lake Michigan said the stable abundance of safe drinkinfg water will create better conditiona for continued development in the butsome officials, including some want to take more time to examine the potentialk environmental effects of the plan. Waukesha currentl y relies on several ground wells to supplyg residents and businesseswith water. Increased water usage has diminished deepgroundwater levels, and the state Departmenr of Justice has ordered the city to complyg with health regulations after radiuj contamination in deep groundwater reacheed unsafe levels for the past several Waukesha spent $13.
5 million to builx two treatment facilities to remove and to dig three shallow wells, whicgh are not at risk of radiun contamination. This brings the city to interi compliance while it looks for more permanent Duchniak said. The city’s optionsx are to use shallow wells while the deepaquifers replenish, or to diverty water from Lake Michigan. Last year, the recommended that 10 including Waukesha, shift from well water to lake watere as partof SEWRPC’s regiona l water supply plan. Potential environmental impactsof Waukesha’s optionsx are being reviewed, but some people thinl Waukesha should take more time to be thorougy in the study beforre submitting an application.
“Basically, there’s not an emergency here. They’rew not going to run out of water,” said Val Klump, director of the at the . “My personal feeling is there’es no rush” for Waukesha to submit its applicatiom as earlyas May. Klump said he’s not opposede to Waukesha diverting Lake Michigan water forthe city’xs use, but the decision will be a foundatiobn for future diversions in other Great Lake communities and, therefore, should undergo more “I think it’s possible it’ll have significant precedenyt effect,” he said.
Klump also said he is concernerd about the chloride content of wastewater from water softenerss that would be sent by the return flow into Lake which has doubled its salt concentration from previous levels. In favor of Waukesha’s diversiojn plan is the , which represents more than 1,50p construction, development and remodeling companies for housing and lighrt commercial properties in severallsoutheastern counties. Reliable water allowsa for denserland development, maximizing land usage and efficiency of said J.
Scott Mathie, director of government affairs for the The region is trying to develop itself as a wateerindustry headquarters, Mathie said, and its communities shoul have the best water sources to reflect that. “It wouldc be a horrible state of affairxs if one of our owncommunities didn’t have access to reliabler water,” Mathie said.