WAUKESHA, Wis (WSAU-Wheeler News) Environmental groups remain opposed to Waukesha’s long-standing request to tap into Lake Michigan for its drinking water. However, they don’t say what the city could do instead, as it faces a 2018 court deadline for removing radium from its water supply.
This week the state D-N-R completed a five-year review of the proposal. It called the use of Lake Michigan the city’s only reasonable option, and it’s possible that Waukesha could get the required approvals from all the states and Canadian provinces along the Great Lakes. Because Waukesha is just outside the natural basin of Lake Michigan, the other approvals are needed under the 2008 Great Lakes water protection compact.
A joint statement yesterday from the Wisconsin and national Wildlife Federations, Clean Wisconsin, the Midwest Environmental Advocates, the River Alliance, and local groups contended that Waukesha has access to another sustainable water supply — and it not need to divert water from Lake Michigan. They wouldn’t say what that alternative is, claiming they have what they call “emerging information” about it. They also accused the D-N-R of using standards that were too low in evaluating the matter.
