Waukesha Great Lakes Diversion Application Remains In Limbo

No formal review of the application from the City of Waukesha for a Great Lakes diversion has yet begun, according to the website established by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to track the application's status.

The application was endorsed by the Waukesha Common Council in April, then edited by Waukesha Water Utility and City Attorney officials before being submitted in June to the DNR, which tabled it pending receipt of additional information it sought from Waukesha.

The DNR is still assessing that added material - - the application, the DNR's review process and other relevant documentation are also on the DNR site.

The website today did post some financial data that the DNR had requested from Waukesha when the agency froze the review process, so this may lead to the review proceeding. We'll see.

Waukesha is applying for water under the 2008 Great Lakes Compact; Wisconsin and all seven other Great Lakes states would have to approve the application, with consultation and input also obtained - - but not a vote - - from two Canadian provinces that also border the Great Lakes before the application plan could be implemented.

The application has been analyzed and criticized by a coalition of environmental organizations: that analysis is here. Other references, here.

So it's not a quick or simple undertaking - - and Waukesha has agreed in writing to meet a June, 2018 legal deadline for the provision of water to its customers that complies with Federal quality standards.

Some Waukesha water from deep wells must be filtered and blended with water from separate, shallow wells to remove naturally-occurring radium - - a process Waukesha wants to end by switching to a Lake Michigan supply.

Waukesha believes Lake Michigan water supplied by the City of Milwaukee is its best option and estimates that such a plan would cost $164 million.

Among the many answered questions:

Would water supplied by Oak Creek or Racine be less or more expensive than a City of Milwaukee supply?

Will Waukesha's plan to send its treated wastewater back to Lake Michigan via Underwood Creek and the Menomonee River - - and not through a pipeline directly to the lake or to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District - - pass an environmental review in Wisconsin, and perhaps in other states concerned about the overall health of the Great Lakes basin?

Does Waukesha have additional and viable alternatives to a Lake Michigan diversion that will meet the Federal water quality standards?

Can Waukesha clear the multitude of legal, political and environmental hurdles the application faces - - in Waukesha, in Southeastern Wisconsin, at the DNR and across the Great Lakes both in the US and Canada - - by the June, 2018 deadline?

Some of these questions may produce answers if the DNR opens its formal application review, and if and when Waukesha or the DNR releases the Oak Creek and Racine cost information.

[Update Tuesday afternoon: The DNR posted the estimates]

Milwaukee is working on a separate compilation of cost estimates covering potential Milwaukee, Racine and Oak Creek supplies - - all part of what will influence contract and negotiations should they get underway if the DNR review proceeds.

And finally, will Milwaukee and Waukesha, should the application be approved by all eight states - - and if with Milwaukee is the preferred supplier- - be able to reach a deal for water that a) meshes Milwaukee's interest in a broad agreement tying water to a comprehensive social and economic issues package, with b) objections to that kind of a broader plan already stated by a number of leading Waukesha officials?

Complicated? You bet.

Was the Lake Michigan option the right choice by Waukesha?

The application is the first of its kind, all parties are in uncharted waters, and at this point there are more questions than answers.