The Great Lakes Compact: Waukesha’s Water

Application

Daniel Duchniak General Manager Waukesha Water Utility

Who is the City of Waukesha?

• 2010 population 70,718 • Urban hub of Waukesha

County • House county services • Own/operate transit system

Waukesha needs a new water supply • EPA set radium standard at 5 pCi/l due to health risks.

Waukesha deep aquifer wells are at 15 pCi/l, 3X the limit set by EPA.

• Waukesha ordered by court to comply with the radium standard by 2018.

• Deep groundwater levels have declined and capacity has decreased.

• Deep groundwater water quality is getting worse (high radium, salts, strontium). Several wells are no longer usable due to water quality issues.

• Deep groundwater is not sustainable due to high use by numerous communities and limited recharge.

• Pumping shallow wells also adversely impacts wetlands and streams. Water also has water quality issues (arsenic, chlorides, molybdenum).

• Even with conservation of existing supplies within the Mississippi River Basin, Waukesha does not have an adequate long-term supply.

Legislative and Legal Considerations • Act 310 – Groundwater Quantity Act (2003)

– Established Groundwater Management Areas (GMA) – Drawdown greater than 150’ qualifies you as a GMA – Waukesha County and Brown County in GMA

• Great Lakes Compact – Wisconsin Implementation Legislation

– Water Supply Service Area Plans – Ban on Diversions with limited exceptions

• Lake Beulah Management District – State Supreme Court Decision

– DNR must consider impacts when issuing high capacity well permits – Groundwater use impacts surface waters

• Pending/Proposed Groundwater Legislation • All New Water Supply Alternatives are Outside the Current

City Limits

Putting in Place the Right Team

• Technical – CH2M • Legal - Stafford Rosenbaum LLP • Financial – Springsted • Political and Public Relations

– Martin Schreiber and Associates – BGR Government Affairs, LLC

• Funding - BGR Group

Lake Michigan is the only reasonable alternative

Waukesha location • City of Waukesha is 1.5 miles west

of Great Lakes surface water divide in straddling county

Great Lakes Compact –Exceptions to the

Diversion Ban* • Straddling community • Community in a straddling county

* Must treat and return the water to the basin.

Lake Michigan Alternative

Compact Criteria Review Process

• Determine if without adequate supplies of potable water • Review for reasonable water supply alternative in the Mississippi River Basin

• Review delineated Water Supply Service Area • Forecast water demand for the Service Area • Subtract conservation savings from forecast demand • Analyze impacts of return flow discharge • Analyze impacts of diversion on Great Lakes Basin

Diversion Application Review Process

Application submitted to

WDNR May 2010

WDNR reviewed

application 2010 - 2015

If application appears to meet

criteria, forwarded for

Regional Review

Jan. 7, 2016

Regional Review

January to May 2016

Compact Council decision

June 2016

Final permitting and

decision by Wisconsin

Issues During the Regional Review

• Service Area • Volume • Return Flow • Monitoring – Supply and Return • Enforcement

Benefits – Waukesha diversion with return flow

• Help restore natural groundwater flow towards Great Lakes basin

• No impact on lake levels • Enhance habitat and

fisheries in Great Lakes basin

• Eliminates need to dispose of naturally occurring radium brought to surface through the use of deep aquifer wells

• Reduces salt released to environment

Waukesha Approval Findings • The Applicant is without a reasonable water supply alternative. • There is no net loss of water volume to the Great Lakes Basin. • Current Supply is from a confined aquifer which restricts recharge and

contributes to the groundwater decline. • Current supply is from a regional aquifer system where withdrawals have

exceeded the natural recharge rate. • The deep aquifer is not a sustainable or safe source of water for the people

served by the Applicant. • Return flow will benefit a Basin tributary, the Root River. • The proposed diversion cannot be reasonably avoided through the efficient use

and conservation of existing water supplies. • Groundwater flow models have demonstrated a direct interconnection between

the deep confined aquifer and the [Great Lakes] Basin. • Continued use of the aquifer draws groundwater away from the Basin without

being returned. • Approving a diversion of Great Lakes water with return flow will result in a net

increase of water in the Lake Michigan watershed.

Of people who reside in communities outside of the Basin:

Straddling County Eligible if have Need and with Return Flow = 0.9% Ineligible US Population = 99.1%

Only a small number of eligible communities are likely to apply or qualify for a diversion!

Thank You

Dan Duchniak, P.E. General Manager, Waukesha Water Utility

(262) 409-4440 dduchniak@waukesha-water.com