Interim City Administrator Will Provide Public Updates on Water Negotiations

Waukesha residents will be updated on the progress of the city’s negotiations with Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Racine as Lake Michigan water suppliers throughout the process to “maximize transparency,” according to a news release from the Waukesha Water Utility.

Community Development Director Steve Crandell will take the lead on the negotiating team, which is comprised of himself, Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak and City Administrator Lori Luther. Luther, however, is soon leaving Waukesha for a new position in Illinois.

Crandell will be the spokesperson for the team when delivering information to the Common Council, including Mayor Jeff Scrima, and the public, according to the news release.

Crandell will soon move into the position of interim city administrator while the city looks to replace Luther. Formal meetings have not yet been scheduled, but Crandell hopes the first meetings will start by the end of summer.

“While negotiators may be the people attending the sessions, it will be the elected officials that will provide us with firm direction and ultimately approve any agreement on behalf of the city,” Crandell said in the news release.

Scrima had and to not include any elected officials on the team, including Scrima. The council, with a supermajority vote,

The Common Council met Thursday in closed session to begin discussing negotiations. Common Council Paul Ybarra said in the news release that the council made it clear that it wants to keep the public informed on the negotiations with the three communities.

“Obviously, any time you are negotiating with another party, a limited amount of information must be confidential in order to bargain for the best deal,” Ybarra said.

The city is still in the application process as it looks divert Lake Michigan water past the Subcontinental Divide. In order to obtain Lake Michigan water, all Great Lakes states have to approve the water diversion request through the Great Lakes Compact.

While the application is considered complete, the application to pipe Lake Michigan water from Milwaukee, Oak Creek or Racine now faces the scrutiny of the DNR and is subject to an environmental impact statement.

The city has identified Lake Michigan as the most cost effective, sustainable, environmentally friendly and healthy water supply as it is faced with a June 2018 deadline to meet federal regulations for its water supply. While addressing the radium standards, Waukesha is also looking to address declining quantity and quality of its groundwater source.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has scheduled.