Waukesha Water Woes

For up-to-date information on Waukesha water, check out the news links on the right-hand side of the Great Lakes Compact page.

Waukesha is certainly between a rock and a hard place. The city currently pumps its drinking water from adeep aquifer approximately 1000 feet below the ground, which is highly
energy intensive and costly. This pumping has caused water levels in the deep aquifer to decrease between 500 and 600 feet, and the quality ofthe groundwater at greater depths continues to deteriorate, containing radium that is unsafe for human health and exceeds EPA standards. Waukesha is required to treat their
water for radium, and must comply with federal standards by June 30, 2018.

Waukesha has been investigating a Great Lakes diversion as one way of obtaining a safe, sustainable water supply in the future. Other options would include continuingto use a mixture of shallow and deep groundwater sources or using just shallow aquifer resources, and continuing to send this water through the Fox River to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.  Waukesha’s other option is using Lake Michigan water, and returning that flow to Lake Michigan per the Great Lakes Compact. Waukesha has announced its intent to apply for a Great Lakes diversion of 18.5
million gallons per day (mgd) of water to meet future demand.
Waukesha believes pursuing Lake Michigan as a water supply has the least environmental impact and is the most protective of public health.

At its first public meeting on January 28th, Waukesha also announced its intention to return flow to Lake Michigan via Underwood Creek and the Menomonee River. The city quoted its hired consultants study, which indicated returning treated
wastewater would not degrade the stream or spur algal growth. This complemented another study by a second paid consultant, which stated that returning this water would not cause issues with creek flow or flooding potential. The impacts of returning flow to the Root River, to MMSD’s conveyance system, or directly to the Lake were not analyzed in the same level of detail.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper has major concerns that Waukesha’s discharge of up to 18.5 mgd of treated wastewater would add to already high pollutant loading in Underwood Creek and downstream portions of the Menomonee River. These areas are already very high in phosphorus, bacteria, and chlorides, and downstream sections of the Menomonee River are federally listed as “impaired” for phosphorus and bacteria. Any additional loading of pollutants has the potential to compound water quality problems in the rivers, and to add to excessive algal growth
in many local streams and downstream beaches. Furthermore, Riverkeeper encourages the Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources to follow through with its commitment to require Waukesha to conduct a comprehensive
environmental impact statement or EIS for this important, precedent setting application.

Riverkeeper and its partners also continue to have questions about the water supply service area and volume of water
being requested by Waukesha. Although protection of public health is a highly appropriate use of Great Lakes water,
using this water to encourage “sprawl” or unchecked development would not be appropriate. Due to the regional precedent set by this first diversion application under the Great Lakes Compact, Waukesha’s proposal deserves enhanced scrutiny by Wisconsin and the Region to ensure successful implementation of the Compact and that our natural resources are being protected on both sides of the continental divide.