Waukesha Likes What It Hears About The Compact Bill

Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson says he likes what he is hearing about the bill being prepared to have Wisconsin endorse and implement the Great Lakes Compact.

That means Waukesha and other Wisconsin communities will probably be allowed to use diverted water to fuel development in land it plans to annex.

While that sounds good for Waukesha, the homebuilders and other business interests, it could mean that without strong conservation measures and a commitment to planning that includes housing, transit and land-use protections, the Compact becomes a tool to enable sprawl at the expense of Milwaukee's land-locked city population.

We'll see if any of that big-picture, inclusionary vision is in the Compact.