Opposition mounts against Wisconsin town's request for Great Lakes water
Opposition continues to grow against a Wisconsin town’s request for a Great Lakes water diversion.
According to a Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council press release, a combination of environmental and conservation organizations and other organizations throughout the state, totaling more than 25, signed a letter to Gov. Rick Snyder asking he deny a diversion request of approximately 10.1 million gallons of water per day submitted by the city of Waukesha in Wisconsin. The organizations claim the proposal fails to meet legal standards of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.
“We want to ensure any diversion requests meet the strict standards of the compact,” said Jennifer McKay, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council policy specialist. “This is a showing across the state that we collectively feel the application submitted by the city of Waukesha falls short.”
A Department of Environmental Quality press release reported Waukesha is unable to use its current water supply because of high levels of radium. The town has been ordered by state officials to address the issue.
According to the press release, the primary reasons the groups signed the letter asking for Snyder’s veto include:
— Waukesha failed to justify the reason it needs more water than what it is currently using. Water demand for the city of approximately 71,489 — located about 20 miles west of Milwaukee — has been declining for around three decades, the press release indicates. The forecasted demand for 2050 assumes a significant increase, though the release states demand should decline because of required conservation measures.
— The request proposes water be diverted to Waukesha, as well as other communities that do not need it. Some officials in these areas have said their cities do not need more water now or in the foreseeable future. Including these communities in the application would also be inconsistent with the compact.
— Waukesha has failed to demonstrate it is without a reasonable alternative for its water supply. A 2015 report created by two independent engineering firms is cited in the press release, which shows the city has a feasible alternative in using its existing deep and shallow water wells now, while investing in additional water treatment infrastructure to ensure the water supply meets state and federal standards.
“The heart and soul of the Great Lakes Compact is the ban on diversions. Waukesha fails to meet the standards of the compact,” said Marc Smith, policy director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center, in the press release. “As the first diversion proposal under the compact, this is serving as a precedent. We have to get this right.”
The Alliance for the Great Lakes website shows the compact is a formal agreement created in 2008 between the Great Lakes states — Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania — to help protect the health of the Great Lakes, as well as prevent diversions of Great Lakes water.
With this being the first diversion request to appear before the compact, and with more possibly coming in the future, McKay agreed it is important to set and stick to strict standards.
In a Feb. 1 letter sent from Shawn Reilly, Waukesha mayor, to the mayors of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, he refuted claims regarding his city’s ability to find alternatives and other claims from various organizations.
In the letter, Reilly said Lake Michigan was found to be the only reasonable water supply alternative as the result of a decade of studies, including an analysis completed by a 32-member panel of experts, as well as five years of review by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
A rock formation limits the recharge of the deep groundwater supply, he said in the letter, severely depleting the aquifer.
Reilly addressed a claim made by the Compact Implementation Coalition in the letter, which he said claimed the deep aquifer would be able to provide an adequate water supply if Waukesha served a smaller service area than what is legally required. The Wisconsin DNR found the aquifer wells could not provide enough water even for a reduced service area, he said.
As for the other towns that would be included in the diversion, Reilly’s letter shows portions of nearby communities — Delafield, Pewaukee and Genesee — are included to meet compact requirements. According to the letter, the compact includes requirements to ensure the maximization of the return of Great Lakes Basin water and minimization of water outside the basin. To meet those requirements, the state of Wisconsin requires new water supply areas be consistent with historical wastewater service areas. According to www.waukeshaapplication.com, those areas have been in the wastewater service area for decades. Genesee was included in the water supply service area because of problems with contaminated wells.
After working on the application for the past five years, Waukesha officials were able to move forward after receiving approval from the Wisconsin DNR.
When the application goes for review by the governors of the Great Lakes states, all eight need to approve. McKay said they can vote yes, no, or yes with conditions. Some of those conditions could address some of the concerns raised by McKay and others.
She said she hopes the letter from her organization and all the other organizations — including groups like For Love of Water, League of Women Voters of Michigan, Michigan Clean Water Action, Michigan Environmental Council and several more large and smaller organizations — will make a difference when it comes time for Snyder to make his decision.
“(The letter) is a showing of solidarity and support,” she said.
The final Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact meeting on the issue is scheduled for May 23 in Chicago. A public comment period through the Department of Environmental Quality closed March. 1.
To learn more about the request, go to www.michigan.gov/waterdiversion.
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