The Energy and Utilities Committee | Twitter
The Energy and Utilities Committee | Twitter
The City of Waukesha recently received permission to divert water from Lake Michigan to improve its municipal water supply.
In 2010, Waukesha city regulators sought permission to divert 8.2 million gallons daily from Lake Michigan for general city use, according to TMJ 4 News. The Great Lakes governors approved this request in 2016 following a comprehensive review process, but the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources didn't issue final approval until just recently.
"Testifying in the Energy & Utilities Cmte [sic] this morning in support of a bill directing $530,000 of the $10 billion Wisconsin received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act for a water supply control system," Wisconsin State Rep. Adam Neylon wrote in a June 10 Twitter post. "The citizens of Waukesha deserve #cleanwater and I’m proud to fight for them."
Waukesha is under a court order to comply with federal drinking water mandates by 2023, but its wells and public water are currently heavily contaminated by radium due to overuse.
The governors approved the diversion of up to 8.2 million gallons of Lake Michigan water per day on the condition that a like amount of water is properly treated by the city and channeled back into the Great Lakes basin, according to The Detroit Free Press.
The city will commence construction of the necessary infrastructure to implement the diversion and is predicted to begin using Great Lakes water for its water supply by 2023, according to a release by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
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