Waukesha Water Deal Without Milwaukee Solves Problems, Creates New Ones
There was a faction on the Waukesha Common Council and in the city at-large that did not Waukesha entangled, as they saw it, in a contractual relationship with Milwaukee for water and the regional policy cooperation Milwaukee expected.
So a water deal with Racine or Oak Creek instead would ease that political strain in and for Waukesha, though it sets up a fresh obstacle for Waukesha in addition to the higher cost of bringing water from the farther-away municipalities:
There is the return flow issue, as the Great Lakes Compact requires diverted water to be returned as close to the point of withdrawal as possible. The return flow proposed in the diversion application - - the Menomonee River via Underwood Creek - - was designed with a Milwaukee withdrawal in mind.
I believe also that the Environmental Impact Statement being prepared by the DNR is evaluating that return flow as proposed with Milwaukee, too.
How fast could the science could be catalogued and studied should the Root River be used as a return flow route for a Racine sale to meet the EIS requirements and pass the eight-state muster for diversion approval, too?
9 comments:
Water Utility manager Dan Duchniak has gone on and on about a Milwaukee Lake supply as being sustainable, but also the most reasonable.
Since day 1 he and the utilities PR firm have sold the Milwaukee option as being the least expensive option for Waukesha residents.
Unfortunately, now it is becoming a bait and switch. If OC or Racine supply the water, the GL option is much more expensive than other local options available to Waukesha. The other GL states will see this as well. (Of course there should be an expectation that those local options will now magically increase in cost.)
Under Duchniak's own definition, the GL diversion will no longer be the most reasonable alternative for Waukesha.
Yes, Duchniak has added a lot of screwupitis to the plethora of problems created for Waukesha on this issue by other officials, too.
And Duchniak does not entertain us nearly as much as did Scrima.
Duchniak is being told what to write.
If the water comes from Racine or Oak Creek, then the Sewage will be directed at Milwaukee because the GOP will handle the reapportionment of sewage.The Racist SEWRPC will affirm that the City of Milwaukee should be grateful for the Red Neck racist Shit from Waukesha. If there is a God in heaven Waukesha will dry up and blow away and the the SEWRPC Commissioners will burn in Hell..
If Waukesha limits growth and puts a real conservation plan in place,(I wouldnt call their $25 toilet rebate a real program) they do not need to do anything other than treat for radium.
Add a couple more filters to non-compliant wells for 10-20 million and the problem is solved.
Everyone would be happy, other than Duchniak who I'm sure would like to see the diversion on his resume. He sticks it to Waukesha then moves on to greener pastures, while never having to deal with the costs as a resident because he doesn't live here.
James,
Question for you being a former government guy.
If memory serves me correct, the water utility manager Dan Duchniak lives in Oak Creek, not in Waukesha.
Mr. Duchniak continuously talks about how the negotiations with Milwaukee, Oak Creek or Racine will save their rate payers in those communities millions of dollars due to the revenue from Waukesha.
Wouldn't it then be a conflict of interest or at least an ethical issue if Duchniak(who is on Waukesha negotiating team) is negotiating on behalf of Waukesha and stands to gain a financial benefit for himself in the form of lower water rates.
According to section 4 of the Waukesha city ethics it sure seems to.
http://www.ci.waukesha.wi.us/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=42481&name=DLFE-1433.pdf
I believe Waukesha has granted DD a residency waiver.
That DD sure knows how to communicate effectively.
Does the Root River watershed actually reach the City of Waukesha? Maybe a better plan would be just to send it down the median strip of I-94. The could make a log ride out of it.
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