Great Lakes Governors To Vote On Waukesha Diversion Request

In a unanimous vote Tuesday in Chicago, the Great Lakes Compact Council approved the first out-of-basin diversion of Great Lakes water under the binational Great Lakes Compact.

Afterward, cameras and microphones buzzed around Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly.

Waukesha is not part of the Great Lakes Compact. “In approving this request, it has failed, setting a precedent that contradicts the Compact’s mission and undermines the water management progress made by the Compact.” . The city then treats and diverts the water to the Mississippi River Basin.

The amendments offered by Minnesota and MI were not deal breakers and they were approved by the states.

But officials with the City of Waukesha, Wisconsin, had other ideas.

“We expect that the Council will intervene if Waukesha and Wisconsin break the trust extended to them through this approval by failing to meet any one of the requirements the Council has outlined today”.

Two of the conditions from the group include: diverting no more than an average of 8.2 million gallons a day of lake water by midcentury – a lesser volume than the average of 10.1 million gallons requested by the city; and a smaller water distribution area than the city proposed.

The agreement also ensures a recycling program is in place for pharmaceuticals and personal care products. “The findings of fact concluded that switching from groundwater to surface water will actually result in an increaseof water in the Great Lakes watershed and eliminate this unintentional diversion of Great Lakes water”.

Waukesha spent years building its case that the Great Lakes are its only sustainable source for clean drinking water. After that, the project will require both state and federal permits.

On Tuesday, the Governors’ Compact Council agreed that the city had done so. We talk with Great Lake commentator Gary Wilson and Grant Trigger, Michigan’s representative to the talks.

“That will be where they withdraw all the Lake Michigan water”, McKay said. At the time Julie Ekman with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Governor Dayton was “still consulting with stakeholders” on Waukesha’s application.

Back in January Waukesha filed an application to divert water directly from Lake Michigan. Given the rapid growth of many drought-plagued states and countries, some planners and financial analysts say water will be become more valuable than oil during the coming century. Any of the states can veto the diversion. He said the Council and Regional Body did a thorough job reviewing the application and anyone challenging the decision would essentially be saying those panels hadn’t followed the correct process.

“We also recognize that there is an opportunity to improve the current process by refining existing guidelines”.