Clean Wisconsin asks DNR to reject Waukesha bid for Great Lakes water

Dec. 03, 2013
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By Don Behm of the Journal Sentinel

Dec. 03, 2013 0

Clean Wisconsin, the state's largest and oldest environmental advocacy group, asked state environmental regulators Tuesday to deny the City of Waukesha's request to switch to a Lake Michigan water supply.

Waukesha's plan to divert up to an average of 10.1 million gallons a day from the lake by mid-century is a sharp increase over its current demonstrated needs of an average of nearly 7 million gallons a day, said Ezra Meyer, water resources specialist with Clean Wisconsin in Madison.

The group is asking the state Department of Natural Resources to reject the city's request in part because such a large volume conflicts with a Great Lakes protection compact's emphasis on water conservation to help manage demand, Meyer said in a statement.

The state Department of Natural Resources is reviewing Waukesha's proposal and expects to make a preliminary judgment early next year on whether the request complies with the Great Lakes compact.

The compact requires Wisconsin and each of the other seven Great Lakes states to approve the diversion before the city could build a supply pipeline from Oak Creek. Treated wastewater would be discharged to the Root River to comply with a compact requirement for returning most of the water to the lake.

If its request is approved, Waukesha would stop using deep wells drawing radium-contaminated water from sandstone.

Twitter: twitter.com/conserve

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About Don Behm

Don Behm reports on Milwaukee County government, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, the environment and communities in southeastern Wisconsin. He has won reporting awards for investigations of Great Lakes water pollution, Milwaukee's cryptosporidiosis outbreak, and the deaths of three sewer construction workers in a Menomonee Valley methane explosion.

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