Waukesha Begins Water Negotiations with Oak Creek, Racine

Officials from Waukesha met Thursday with officials in Oak Creek and Racine as the city begins to find the best option for its water source as it seeks to purchase water from Lake Michigan.

“Our meetings with officials in Oak Creek and Racine went well today,” said Acting City Administrator Steve Crandell in a news release. “We provided information about our water needs and our timetables and discussed issues related to the process.”

“Both Oak Creek and Racine officials are interested in exploring the possibility of providing our citizens with water, and they understand that there are significant potential benefits to their communities. The meetings were productive and we are looking forward to continuing our discussions with both parties very soon.”

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 to begin Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources review, 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 about the radium levels in its water supply. While addressing the radium standards, Waukesha is also looking to address declining quantity and quality of its groundwater source.

and Common Council President Paul Ybarra accompanied Waukesha’s negotiators to the first meeting as a goodwill gesture, according to the news release.

The Common Council previously had identified Crandell and General Manager Dan Duchniak as the main negotiation team, along with then-City Administrator Lori Luther who has since moved on from Waukesha for a new job. The council agreed that others could be added to the discussions when needed. The council also identified Crandell as the official spokesperson for the city about the water supply and water negotiations.

Meetings have not yet been scheduled with Milwaukee, which is also being considered for a water supply.

 “Milwaukee’s Common Council must take action to authorize the preparation of various reports that a local ordinance requires for negotiations to occur,” Crandell said in a news release. “We’ve begun preparing the necessary data for them and are hopeful that they will take that action in September."