Town of Waukesha to address City of Waukesha water service area

Published on: 10/16/2012

With barely a minute to spare, the Town of Waukesha will hold a special Town Board meeting today.

The meeting was posted at 12:42 p.m. and the meeting was scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. at Town Hall, W250 S3567 Center Road.

According to state statute, at least a 24-hour notice of a meeting is required; however, it states, if 24 hours is impossible or impractical for good cause, a shorter notice may be given, but in no case may the notice be less than two hours.

It goes on to say that this “good cause” provision allowing short notice should be used sparingly and only when truly necessary.

The only item on the agenda is to discuss and possibly take action on the City of Waukesha's water service area.

The City of Waukesha is looking to purchase Great Lakes water and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission designated a future water supply service area for Waukesha that includes portions of the Town of Waukesha.

The City of Waukesha is seeking a new water source due to its radium-contaminated water. According to the City of Waukesha’s Water Utility, the city currently obtains more than 87 percent of its water supply from the deep St. Peter Sandstone Aquifer.

But City of Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak has said that continued use of the city’s deep well water supply, which has dropped 500 to 600 feet, is unsustainable.

The water utility is under a court order to reduce the levels of radium in its water by June 2018.

The city thought it had a deal with Oak Creek but that deal has not been finalized. The City of Waukesha would then have to get the approval of the governors of the eight Great Lakes states.

Any Lake Michigan water sold to the city must be returned to the lake as treated wastewater under terms of a Great Lakes protection compact.

The Town's meeting comes before the City of Waukesha's Common Council will go into closed session at 7:30 p.m. tonight at its Common Council meeting to consider the Town of Waukesha's proposal relating to Waukesha's water service area and to discuss negotiations with Oak Creek concerning Waukesha’s future water supply.