Coalition Pushes For Alternatives To Waukesha Taking Water From Lake Michigan

A coalition that opposes the city of Waukesha obtaining drinking water from Lake Michigan says there are better and cheaper alternatives.

Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources has given a preliminary OK to Waukesha and a few nearby towns served by the Waukesha Water Utility being the first area outside the Great Lakes Basin to get lake water under a multi-state compact.

Officials with the Compact Implementation Coalition said their experts have found that Waukesha could just use existing wells and invest in better treatment for contaminants like radium.

Jodi Habush-Sinykin, of Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the coalition’s plan is more reasonable.

“It’s cheaper, it meets public health standards and causes less environmental impact to surface waters,” she said.

But, Waukesha water officials said the alternative plan contains nothing new and is incomplete.

DNR officials will make their final decision on the Lake Michigan diversion later this year, and the plan would still need approval from other Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces.