Thursday, May 3, 2012

Racine Editorial Suggests Link Between Growth And Waukesha Water Deal

Waukesha's Water Utility has regularly denied that its application for Lake Michigan water is a Trojan Horse to stimulate growth - - the most recent such statement being a highly-publicized letter to Milwaukee officials downplaying the use of Lake Michigan water to stimulate  expansion.

The text is available, here.

It's a hot-button issue given Waukesha's declining daily water demand - - a recent blog discussion with history about the issue is here - - and an editorial in the Racine Journal Times reinforces the connection between water and growth in Waukesha as also beneficial for Racine and regionally, too.

Here is the editorial, which gets into the job discussion this way:

Concerns have focused on whether Racine will be selling jobs along with water. About 15 percent of Waukesha’s area is available for growth, and the city’s application for Lake Michigan water projects a maximum daily demand in 2030 of 16.6 million gallons. But that’s also for a projected 24 percent population increase.

The mistaken assumption is that these supposed jobs would come to the Racine area if they don’t go to Waukesha. Yet they would be available to Racine County people who commute, especially to residents of the Burlington-Rochester-Waterford corridor.

Also, companies settling initially in Waukesha may create spin-off divisions near Racine, or they may attract related companies which settle here.

What we should be working on is making the region stronger, for economic strength in Waukesha County helps everyone. It makes the entire area more attractive and dynamic.
Milwaukee officials have long argued that a water deal with Waukesha needed to take into account the benefits and impact of water on jobs, transportation, housing and other regional issues.

A Milwaukee Common Council resolution about city water sale policy can be found here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

These writers always make the claim that Waukesha is looking for a new water supply because of radium issues.

This is a false statement. The City of Waukesha is no longer operating in excess of the radium standards set by the EPA.

The new Lake Michigan water supply is needed only for expansion and growth.

Anonymous said...

If anyone in Racine or Oak Creek thinks that they are in the running to sell Waukesha water, see page 13 of the application submitted to the Public Service Commission for a capital improvement prefunding rate increase.

http://psc.wi.gov/apps35/ERF_view/viewdoc.aspx?docid=157562

Milwaukee can sit on this one until the cows come home, and they know it.

Dennis Grzezinski said...

It is utterly amazing to watch Waukesha say that Milwaukee must provide it with Lake Michigan water because it is necessarily to strengthen the region. In contrast,time and time again, Waukesha County communities and officials have turned their back on any kind of cooperation with Milwaukee -- on transportation, access to jobs, affordable housing. They even prevented Milwaukee from moving ahead with public transit projects that were located entirely within Milwaukee County. Why the media would fail to recognize that they are applying a double standard here is hard to understand.