After years of review and deliberation by the State of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Regional Body and Compact Council, the City of Waukesha 's application to divert Great Lakes water has been approved.
Passed into law in 2008, the Compact sets standards for water use within the Great Lakes basin and bans diversions outside of the basin, with limited exceptions. One of the exceptions to the ban on diversion is eligible to communities that straddle the basin line or exist within a county that straddles the basin line. These straddling communities must meet certain criteria established in the Compact to receive a diversion request. Due to high levels of naturally occurring radium in their groundwater supply, Waukesha, Wisconsin applied for a Great Lakes diversion. The decision to grant the diversion was in the hands of the Great Lakes governors, who unanimously voted to approve the diversion proposal only if a number of added conditions were adopted.
"We appreciate the level of engagement and thoughtfulness demonstrated by the Great Lakes Regional Body and Compact Council in reviewing Waukesha's diversion application," said Cathy Martin, Program Manager for Save the Dunes. "Waukesha's diversion application as submitted did not meet the standards of the Great Lakes Compact, and we feel that the conditions adopted by the Compact Council acknowledged those inconsistencies and improved the proposal's compliance with the law."
Along with other organizations and stakeholders across the Great Lakes region, Save the Dunes has voiced concerns over Waukesha's diversion proposal. "While further review of the added conditions is needed to assess their ability to adequately uphold the standards of the Compact, in our preliminary assessment we are encouraged to see the conditions addressing some of our larger concerns," says Martin.
Despite the improvements made to the diversion proposal by the Regional Body and Compact Council, concerns with Waukesha's diversion proposal remain. Save the Dunes and regional partners continue to believe that alternative water supply sources are available to the City of Waukesha that would not require diverting Great Lakes water. It is important to note that the water diverted by Waukesha must be returned to the Great Lakes basin, as required by the Compact.
Because the Waukesha diversion application is the first since the Compact was adopted, it is a critical test of the Compact's effectiveness and serves as a precedent for subsequent diversion proposals. "The work to monitor the Waukesha diversion process does not end here," says Martin. "It is key that Great Lakes advocates and the Compact Council remain heavily engaged in this process to ensure that the requirements under the Great Lakes Compact and specific conditions are enforced and the integrity of the Great Lakes Compact is upheld."