The Mayors of Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Racine - - each potentially the chief executive of a Great Lakes water-selling community should Waukesha have its application for a Lake Michigan diversion approved - - have together signed a joint communication to Waukesha raising several basic questions about how the City of Waukesha made its future water calculations and what amounts of future water use are projected for existing Waukesha territory plus use in a geographically-expanded service area, along with more information.
It's a sensible, regionally-cooperative strategy by the Mayors: seeking information together simplifies the information that Waukesha might need to gather and distribute, and the approach also reduces the chance that one potential selling community could be played against another.
You can access the letter in pdf format, here.
The diversion application is being reviewed by the Wisconsin DNR, and word has it that sometime later this year or in 2013, the DNR is likely to send it on the seven other Great Lakes states for their review.
Among the elements of the review yet to be completed by the DNR: an Environmental Impact Statement, decisions on the proposed pipeline and waste water discharge routes, and public hearings.
Approvals are not guaranteed, as the political climate differs from state-to-state, and there are objections to the plan for differing reasons in Waukesha and in Milwaukee as well.
All eight Great Lakes states must approve the application for a diversion to be green-lighted because the City of Waukesha is outside of the Great Lakes watershed boundaries, according to protocols established by the Great Lakes Compact of 2008.
Waukesha is under a legal obligation to provide radium-free water to its users by June 30, 2018, and has decided among supply alternatives on a Lake Michigan purchase through one of the lakefront cities to meet the compliance timeline instead of continuing treat radium-tainted well water for its supply.
[Update: Waukesha tells the Journal Sentinel it is stunned by the letter.]
That is an amazing letter.
ReplyDeleteWhat's clairvoyant from the Mayors is that the Waukesha diversion application doesn't pass the smell test, will likely be disected to a much greater extent by each state, and not be passed. One would get the impression that not one of these communities is willing to stick another dime into the Waukesha Water Utility's pipe dream. They all point to the same conclusion - your cost estimates are the result of a value engineered project. Any more strigent requirements and local options are more cost effective. And, by-the-way, SEWRPC says you have plenty of water through 2035...see ya then.
Interesting how the Waukesha Common Council president heads the 2 person negotiating team and holds the bag, yet passed reporters questions to Mayor Scrima. Scrima and the public have been asking most of these questions all along.
Heads up to all potential City of Waukesha Administrator candidates. This doomed project will be your baby on your resume'!
Waukesha thought that all 3 of the cities would be jumping for the money. Fighting to see who could be the big "winner" to get the cash. All the time Waukesha was thinking they could get away with cheap ways of sending the water back to the lake. Guess it did not work this time.
ReplyDeleteStunned?
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Because you thought you had it in the bag?