Waukesha's Elusive Water Solution (Milw. vs Waukesha Water Wars)

[hue]

http://www.wuwm.com/news/wuwm_news.php?articleid=10751

Waukesha’s quest to supply its residents with safe, drinkable water recently lost some steam.

The city hopes to replace its radium-tainted wells, with Lake Michigan water.

But, the most convenient seller, Milwaukee, said no to Waukesha, unless it sticks to its current customer base, rather than a projected – much larger – service area.

Obstacles do not end there.

Waukesha is the first community facing the constraints of the Great Lakes Compact.

WUWM’s Susan Bence spoke with a local environmental attorney closely monitoring Waukesha’s application.

(listen to audio)

[hue]

1. I doubt Waukesha will ever get Milw. Co. water!

They haven't even begun their environmental impact study (which is required by law) and yet want the water spoon fed to them!!

[HereSince1628]

2. This has been going on for 20 years,

IIRC the GLC finally had provisional approval for Milw to sell the water, now Milw pulled out when Waukesha included the expanded area.

Not that it's correct, but some of the stuff I read in the paper makes it sound like the Milw Common Council sees growth in Waukesha Co as against the competitive interests of the city.

I do think the change in service area creates challenges. One of the GLC's concerns is that export doesn't result in net loss of water from the watershed. There was a plan for treated wastewater to be pumped into a creek that feeds into the Menominee river and back to the Lake. The expanded service area would certainly create challenges for getting water back into the
Lake Michigan watershed.

[Homer12]

3. Waukesha & the County is a parasite on Milwaukee

I say let Waukesha learn what being conservative really is like and conserve their own resrouces for once instead of polluting their own, their reckless consumption know's no bounds.

[hue]

4. Indeed they don't want to comply w/environmental regulations but

want the pure water from Milw. to water their lavish, landscaped lawns & fill their indoor/outdoor swimming pools!
t

[HereSince1628]

5. The people in Waukesha need safe drinking water...it hasn't been for many decades

Seeing everyone in Waukesha stereotyped as reckless consumers is a sign someone doesn't know Waukesha and it's sad to think Waukesha's childen and the poor deserve this fate as a way to punish excesses of some.

Seeing everyone in Waukesha stereotyped as a decadant snob who needs water for their overly large suburban lawns and swimming pools is also very sad.

The City of Waukesha has ONE water system.

It's pretty obvious that the well-to-do folks in Waukesha can better afford bottled water or operating softners/purifiers than the poor and working class folks of Waukesha who would be stuck with no solution to water that doesn't meet federal safety standards.

If you've ever watched westbound traffic on 94 in the morning, you'll realize that a very large number commute to their jobs in Waukesha from Milwaukee. Am I correct to suppose these people are some sort of traitors to the city and also deserve to drink unsafe water all day at work?



I sort of doubt any progressive who gives it serious thought would want to see anyone, let alone democrats living in a red zone, stuck drinking toxic water because politicians and the populace of Milwaukee want to stick 'it' to political rivals.

[hue]

6. Waukesha has known about it's radium tainted water for many years & has done nothing!

They know the children & others drink it. Why don't You ask why they DON'T care???

They have shown no intention of beginning the process of following environmental codes for taking water from Lake Michigan! The Milw. Water Works (MWW) serves 15 districts from Theinsville to Hales Corners & even a portion of Franklin. They all comply with the standards required to take from our Lake. So why does Waukesha--if they are desperate for clean water--not want to follow the rules???? All water from Lake Michigan is eventually purified and RETURNED TO THE LAKE!! Yet they have indicated so far that they won't do that. The water level on Lake Michigan is already decreasing.
No one wants to see the poor and children of Waukesha drink unsafe water.
But charges of negligence go to those Waukesha leaders who have made manifest their priorities and lied about the service area boundaries that want the water.
Milw. has built, maintained the water purification sites since about 1934 with Milw Co. taxes and payments. MWW diligently protects and generously shares this life giving commodity! Yet Waukesha leaders have invested nothing towards it and show no respect for our precious water.

There are several alternative methods of treating radium contaminated water. Waukesha has not invested one penny towards solving this serious problem.
IMHO just another way in which their twisted values and resulting behaviors negatively affects their constituents (their own dear people)!

[HereSince1628]

9. Yes. this has been a known problem for decades...

And yes there are point of use solutions, as well as solutions that can be applied prior to distribution. The solutions ave always been very expensive. Since the time that Waukesha first failed to meet Federal safe drinking water standards the cost of solutions has gone up multiple times. Additionally,since the problem emerged, SERPC (pronounced sewerpac, but actually Southeast Regional Planning Commission) has decided that Waukesha is obligated to provide water to those neighboring areas as a part of development planning.

I do think that reasonable arguments can be made about whether or not the 'dilution' solution is best for all involved. The 'dilution' solution required Waukesha to buy the water and construct the infrastructure to return treated water to the watershed...it isn't a give away.

Generally speaking, discussions about the various solutions can and should be done without stereotyping everyone in Waukesha as a decadent consumer, or stereotyping every citizen in eastern Waukesha county as a parasite. And it's that aspect of the discussion that I find very wanting.

[Homer12]

7. As Hue points out

I grew up near Oconomowoc and I know the area and Waukesha City well. Waukesha moved the bar in the middle of the game on Milwaukee to include other areas and Milwaukee is 100% correct not to want to sell water to other areas in W.County.

It's in Milwaukee intrest not to sell water to a larger area. The un-fettered development in the 90's was sickening to behold, with no wanting to adopt conservation methods and use smart planning.

Conservative Waukesha county has done nothing, all they want to do is take take take from Milwaukee and not give back.

[yourout]

8. "all they want to do is take take take ....... and not give back. "....That's the Republican way.

If there ever was a one sentence description of a Republican.....that is it.