In a groundbreaking development, water from the Great Lakes is now being supplied to a community located outside the usual Great Lakes basin. Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee in Wisconsin with a population of around 70,000 and situated on the banks of the Fox River, has been striving for several decades to switch its water source due to contamination of its previous supply with radium, according to WISN. The city first requested water from Lake Michigan to be pumped to its residents in 2010, as reported by Wisconsin Public Radio. However, being in a county that straddles the basin line, Waukesha had to seek a water diversion under the Great Lakes Compact and there was no guarantee it would be approved. “Any governor in the eight states that are signatories to the Compact could have vetoed the diversion,” WPR highlights, emphasizing that “Waukesha barely made the cut” back in 2016.
It took a massive $300 million effort, involving cutting through extensive red tape, exploring alternatives, conducting an environmental impact study, and constructing a 36-mile long pipeline, but the transfer is finally complete. As WISN reveals, “with a push of a button Monday morning, 50 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Michigan began to flow into faucets throughout the city of Waukesha.” As a result, this community has become “the first community outside the Great Lakes basin to draw water from one of the Great Lakes,” according to WPR. “It’s a sense of relief,” says Dan Duchniak, general manager of the Waukesha Water Utility. “We’re finally going to resolve that water supply issue that we’ve had in the city for a number of years, and it’ll be solved for generations to come.”
The newly constructed pipeline transports the water from Lake Michigan to a pumping station in the city. It is estimated that around 90% of residents should receive chloramines-treated lake water by the end of this week. The remaining 10% will have access to lake water within three weeks, as confirmed by Duchniak. While residents might experience temporary changes in the smell and taste of the water, they have been assured that it is safe to consume, as reported by GM Today. The city has permission to divert up to 8.2 million gallons of lake water per day and is required to clean and return the water to the lake via the Root River. In fact, it will be returning more water than it diverts, approximately 9.3 million gallons daily, as per WPR. Additionally, the city will be obligated to monitor the changes in the Root River for at least 10 years. (Read more Wisconsin stories.)
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