Politics & Government

Waukesha Water Application Nearing Public Hearings

DNR has to approve application before submitting to other Great Lakes governors.

Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak said Thursday night that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources could soon determine that the city’s Great Lakes diversion application is complete and set the stage for review, more than one year after the application was originally submitted.

“It is very close to being complete,” Duchniak said. “… Hopefully in the month or so we will have a complete application and they can move forward.”

A  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article states the DNR will make the announcement in two weeks and will schedule public hearings on the application for July.

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

Waukesha is applying for the water under the terms of the Great Lakes Compact, which requires approval from all Great Lakes states. Waukesha would purchase Lake Michigan from Milwaukee, Oak Creek or Racine and return the water to the lake.

Waukesha is under a June 2018 deadline to reduce radium levels in its water supply or face stiff, recurring penalties and fines. Great Lakes water has been identified by the city as the most cost effective, sustainable and healthy source of water.

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

The application originally stalled in June 2010, and the city originally hoped for DNR approval by the end of 2010 or early 2011. The delays on the application have cut into an 18-month buffer the city built in as it meets a June 2018 deadline to meet the EPA's mandate.


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