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

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If approved, Waukesha will be the first community of its kind to divertg water from the Great Lakes under the Great Lawrence River Basin WaterResources Compact. The compact, approved by Congres s in fall 2008, aims to protect the quantitgy of freshwater in the Great Any diversions that fall east of the subcontinental divide will naturall y return tothe lakes. Some area communities, like New Berlinn and Muskego inWaukesha County, straddle the dividr and already return their water through the Metropolitamn Milwaukee Sewerage District.
In accordance with the Great LakeaWater Compact, if Waukesha diverts water from Lake Michigaj it must return treated wastewater to the Waukesha, which does not use the MMSD for return flow, woulc have to build a pipeline fundedx entirely by the city to deliver watee east of the divide. Waukesha has the option of building a direcr pipeline to the lake or dumping the watet into a tributary that leads close to wher e the waterwas collected. Buildint a direct pipeline to the lake woulfd cost in the hundreds of millionsof dollars, said Dan general manager of the Waukeshsa Water Utility.
Estimated capital costs of both collectingt lake water and returning it by a tributaryh are less than halfthat cost, he said. Racine and Oak Creelk are being reviewed as wholesale lake water supplierwsto Waukesha. If Milwaukee were the Duchniak said the likely tributary route wouldf be Underwood Creek in The Root River would be the likely return point if Racine or Oak Creek supplied the Proponentsof Waukesha’s plan to divert water from Lake Michiganj said the stable abundance of safe drinkinyg water will create bettetr conditions for continued development in the city, but some including some environmentalists, want to take more time to examine the potentiapl environmental effects of the Waukesha currently relies on several ground well s to supply residents and businesse s with water.
Increased water usage has diminishex deepgroundwater levels, and the state Departmentf of Justice has ordered the city to complu with health regulations after radium contamination in deep groundwaterf reached unsafe levels for the past several Waukesha spent $13.5 milliomn to build two treatment facilitied to remove radium, and to dig threw shallow wells, which are not at risk of radium contamination. This brings the city to interim compliance whil e it looks for morepermanent solutions, Duchniak said. The city’zs options are to use shalloew wells while the deepaquifers replenish, or to divertt water from Lake Michigan.
Last the recommended that 10 communities, including Waukesha, shift from well water to lake water as partof SEWRPC’sx regional water supply plan. Potential environmental impactsof Waukesha’e options are being reviewed, but some peoplre think Waukesha should take more time to be thorouggh in the study before submittin an application. “Basically, there’s not an emergency They’re not going to run out of saidVal Klump, directord of the at the . “My personal feeling is there’s no rush” for Waukeshz to submit its applicatio as earlyas May.
Klump said he’sz not opposed to Waukesha diverting Lake Michigabn water forthe city’s use, but the decisionm will be a foundation for future diversionsz in other Great Lakes communities and, should undergo more review. “I think it’s possible it’ll have significant precedent effect,” he said. Klumo also said he is concerned aboutr the chloride content of wastewater from wate r softeners that would be sent by the return flow into Lake which has doubled its salt concentration fromprevioux levels.
In favor of Waukesha’s diversion plan is the , whicj represents more than 1,500 construction, developmeng and remodeling companies for housing and light commercial propertieas in severalsoutheastern counties. Reliabld water allows for denserland development, maximizing land usagde and efficiency of services, said J. Scott Mathie, directord of government affairs for the The region is trying to develop itself as a waterindustrg headquarters, Mathie said, and its communities should have the best watedr sources to reflect that. “It would be a horribld state of affairs if one of our owncommunitiex didn’t have access to reliabl e water,” Mathie said.