Politics & Government

Racine County Officials Respond to Waukesha Water Letter From 3 Lake Michigan Mayors

Some elected representatives believe a water sales agreement would benefit residents in Mount Pleasant, Caledonia and Racine.

A group of Racine and Caledonia officials have responded to a that was sent from the mayors of three Lake Michigan communities that are being considered as a water supplier for Waukesha.

In the letter from Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Racine mayors, the mayors questioned Waukesha about the city's conservation measures, rate increase requests and water service area. General Manager Dan Duchniak said the water utility will respond to their questions but the answers are written in the city’s application to divert Great Lakes water past the Subcontinental Divide. Waukesha needs the approvals of all Great Lakes states to obtain water from Lake Michigan.

Declining water quality and quantity are major reasons the city is looking to purchase Lake Michigan water.

Find out what's happening in Waukeshawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The community’s mayor, Al Foeckler, told Oak Creek Patch that the three mayors – who are in communities directly competing against one another for a water deal with Waukesha ­– were showing a united front to be in a good negotiating position.

Waukesha’s begun negotiations with Oak Creek and Racine and is waiting for Milwaukee to open negotiations.

Find out what's happening in Waukeshawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Waukesha Water Utility officials hope that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will complete its two-year review of its application to obtain Lake Michigan water and forward it to other Great Lakes states for approval. Already working on a tight timetable to finish the water project by the June 2018 deadline, the water utility anticipates a decision from all the Great Lakes states by the end of the year.

The water utility would like to see negotiations completed by July with the three communities. That would allow the Common Council to make its ultimate decision by January 2013.  Construction would begin in June 2014, if all moves forward.

Here is the response from Racine and Caledonia officials, including Tom Weatherston, Caledonia Village Trustee, Caledonia Utility District Commissioner, Kevin Wanggaard, Caledonia Village Trustee, Bob Bradley, President Caledonia Utility District, Ron Hart, City of Racine Alderman, City of Racine Utility District Commissioner, Mike Shields, City of Racine Alderman, City of Racine Utility District Commissioner and Ron Coutts, President Village of Caledonia:

Do the Mayors think they are speaking for and doing what is right for their constituents by challenging the plan to sell water to Waukesha? 

The annual sale of $5 million water to Waukesha will lower water rates for everyone within the district. For example if the City of Racine is the supplier of this water, every customer in the City of Racine, Caledonia and Mount Pleasant would realize a minimum rate reduction of 25 percent. This savings is the result of the fixed operational costs being spread out over a larger customer base. 

The Racine Water Utilities largest consumer, S.C. Johnson, could save upwards of a million dollars per year, monies that could be re-invested into their operations here in Racine County.  Other manufacturing and small businesses would also be blessed with these potential savings making us more attractive to new job development. 

One may surmise by some of the questions in the mayors' letter that they are concerned about future growth in Waukesha. However; this concern is not about future demands on their utilities but because they apparently feel that the growth should be within their cities and not Waukesha.  Apparently, by not helping Waukesha these potential new developments would come to the City of Racine or Milwaukee.  This theory does not even consider that new customers may move further north or worse yet out of the State.

The questions asked by the mayors in their letter are, for the most part, very basic questions about the application.  Most of the requested information has been available for more than two years, in the May 2010 application by Waukesha to the DNR, and in prior drafts.

More than 3,000 pages of information, including Frequently Asked Questions, are available at the Waukesha Water Utility web site.  

We as elected officials and commissioners should jump at the opportunity to lower the utility costs for our ratepayers and constituents! To not do so is unacceptable!

The project itself would also create many construction and ancillary jobs for several years.  Capital costs alone could be $85 million or more.

We fully support Waukesha in its efforts to get its water from the Racine Water Utility.

We should all be working for the people!


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