Racine given time to prepare Waukesha water deal
The Waukesha Common Council will not act on terms of a water deal with Oak Creek or Racine at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Oak Creek and Racine have been given two additional weeks to draft their best offers to sell Lake Michigan water to Waukesha, Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak said.
"It's a competitive situation," Duchniak said.
Though Oak Creek's terms likely are set after recent negotiations, Waukesha's Water Utility Commission last week agreed to give Racine extra time to complete its offer, he said.
The commission could schedule a special meeting Sept. 4 to recommend approval of a preliminary deal prior to that evening's common council meeting, Duchniak said.
One year ago, Waukesha asked three lakeshore communities - Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Racine - to negotiate a possible water deal. There have been no talks with Milwaukee.
Any preliminary agreement must include the geographic area to be served, the cost of the water and the facilities Waukesha would need to build and pay for - including pipeline and pumping stations - to move the water inland.
Waukesha is seeking approval of Wisconsin and the other seven Great Lakes states to divert up to an average of 10.9 million gallons of lake water a day by 2050 across the sub-continental divide separating the Lake Michigan and Mississippi River watersheds. Water must be returned to the lake as treated wastewater.
