Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Waukesha's Water Use Substantially Below Its Lake Michigan Diversion Request

Interesting that Waukesha's daily water use is falling and is far less than the minimum amount it wants permission to divert daily from Lake Michigan.

So how much of that figure is for growth, really?

Seems to me if the City continues to conserve, and were to drop the Town of Waukesha from the application, it might either need far less water from Lake Michigan or other sources (especially induced from the Fox River bank), to offer federally-compliant water to its customers.

The DNR has its work cut out for itself; was this application really complete enough to move into formal review if the water need bottom line is this fluid?

The question answers itself.


4 comments:

Paul Trotter said...

I sense a wee bit of sour grapes here but hey if Waukesha is doing such a fine job of conserving why would they want our water. Certainly not for low income housing , big business or more strip malls.

Anonymous said...

The DNR should come intense scrutiny from the other states for reviewing an incomplete application as defined by review of the originally submitted application. No defined service area means no determination can be made for the environmental impact.

Paul Furrer said...

OK, if it's because of the down economy or because our conservation plan is working the fact is our total water usage is going down.

If Waukesha ultimately uses less water from Lake Michigan than the max estimated amount, why does that indicate a diabolical plan? If we use less, we pay for less, we put back less. We still return what we buy (less consumptive use - but our treatment plant routinely processes more water than we pump from the ground because of infiltration and because of all those hunywaggons from the town). If the Application for water had called for less than an increase from our previous years highs we would likely be accused of low-balling to get our foot in the door.
Tell me, what would be a satisfactory guesswork future amount assuming that we eventually do service the Town (as much to give a Town homeowner an option should their well or septic fail than because we are desperate to expand the City's borders) and assuming too that we don't have some kind of hodgepodge, way too expensive, multiple source hybrid?

James Rowen said...

Commenters: Can we talk about the issue without accusing one side or group of lies, or other personal aspersions cast?