Report from the Waukesha Water Diversion Public Hearing

"If Waukesha's application were approved in its present state, it would set a terrible precedent for the entire Great Lakes region and weaken the Compact!"

Marjorie Palleon and Claire Vanderslice at the Hearing.

On Thursday, February 18, 2016, the Carroll University Shattuck Music Center, Room 122, was filled with hundreds of people interested and concerned about the first Great Lakes water diversion application. Busloads of people arrived from all over Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and even New York. Most were eager to state why they did not want this diversion to happen.

We arrived early to sign up to speak and observe the area. The stage was filled with 12 chairs for the Governors and Premiers or their representatives. A microphone stood ready in the center floor walkway for public hearing presenters.

At 2 pm, officials from DNR and Waukesha were on stage with slide presentations. They also answered questions from the audience regarding the diversion, radium pollution and removal, wetlands, sewers, wells, conservation, alternate water sources, and more.

Promptly at 3 pm, the chairperson of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers explained the public hearing rules to the audience. No one could speak unless they had signed in, and then been called by the chairperson.

The organizers decided the order. First, all 20-30 officials from mayor, alderman, city planners, water and sewer planners and individuals of Waukesha appeared, the mayors of surrounding communities, and finally well know individuals from environmental organizations such as Elizabeth Wheeler, Todd Ambs, George Meyer of WI Wildlife Federation, Karen Hobbs of NRDC, ACLU and many more.

It was then 6 pm and supper break was announced. There were 75 presenters left and the Governors and Premiers stated they would stay "until they were done."  Many individuals left as the buses were leaving. We also left. Our statement had been received prior to the meeting by email, and we did not know if and when we would be called.

Interesting information from the presentations:

• Waukesha uses 6 million gallons of water daily and requested twice that amount, meaning they want to expand.
• A former DNR official, one who "worked on the original Compact," stated that when the DNR changed the Waukesha diversion wording to include the surrounding areas with private wells, it changed the Compact meaning. So it is not just the needed water for contaminated and drawn down city wells but includes the private contaminated wells in the enlarged surrounding area. New Berlin's mayor stated they only requested water for contaminated wells not the whole city. Brookfield removes radium from their wells as well as 50 Wisconsin communities.
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the best way to remove radium and pollutants from water in many communities, but removal strategies involving ion exchange are being researched.
• The Great Lakes Compact does not define "reasonable alternate source of potable water." Waukesha has defined reasonable alternate source in its application as "...alternate supply similar in cost to..."
• Race and poverty were noted as factors for wanting to expand away from Milwaukee. Waukesha is 86% white non-Hispanic.
• All measures for conservation from lawn watering to toilet changes are voluntary and not really being enforced. "It is technically ok to water your lawn as long as you wish if you are holding the hose in your hand," stated one Waukesha resident. Waukesha has increased conservation but about equal to the rest of the country.
• Corporate industry pays less for water and sewer the more they use, and homeowners pay more if they use more, not equal.
• Milwaukee's Mayor Barrett stated that Milwaukee was the original "suitor" for selling Lake Michigan water to Waukesha and could not or would not due to the proposed Waukesha extended area. Milwaukee is still willing to supply if the extended area is dropped from the proposal.

Waukesha is located in a county that straddles the Great Lakes basin, and it can request water, but only in extraordinary circumstances and as a last resort.  Studies have proven that Waukesha has another option for water that costs almost half as much as diverting water from Lake Michigan. Perhaps lake water to replace only contaminated and drawn down city wells needs to be supplied. If Waukesha's application were approved in its present state, it would set a terrible precedent for the entire Great Lakes region and weaken the Compact!

Reported by Marjorie Palleon, LWV of Ozaukee Area and LWVLMR Delegate

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