Will Waukesha Take Center Stage At Regional Water Confab Thursday?

Tomorrow's the big day, as the Great Lakes states meet in Chicago at a major summit meeting to discuss, among other things, a process for evaluating Waukesha's application for an out-of-basin diversion of Lake Michigan water.

The meeting is a part of implementation procedures for the 2008 Great Lakes Compact: Waukesha's application is the first request for an out-of-basin diversion.

And it is an application laden with flaws and open questions, such as: should Waukesha be allowed to draw up to nearly twice what it uses now; should the water be sent to other jurisdictions in a vastly-expanded service territory (and without those jurisdictions' approval, or application consideration); does returning the water down Underwood Creek meet environmental and Great Lakes Compact requirements; has Waukesha adequately explored all feasible options?

It's not clear if what Waukesha submitted to the Department of Natural Resources on May 20 is materially-different from what its Common Council approved April 8th: A re-vote on the edited version that went to the DNR did not take place, as water utility officials said the changes were minor and had been recommended by the city attorney.

Is one person's minor change another person's substantive alteration? Without a side-by-side document set, it's impossible to know or to see the big picture.

On May 25th, in an initial comparison, I noted changes in language, tone and emphasis in the two versions' executive summaries, and in the organization of chapters and sub-chapters.

Local and national groups have been raising these and other questions for a long time - - even prior to Waukesha's final application drafting in April - - a process itself filled with missteps...and the matter of other alternatives was central to the surprise election of Mayor Jeff Scrima, and contrary to the 'Lake-Michigan-or-bust' position of both former Mayor Larry Nelson, the city's water utility and its brace of consultants.