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 [email protected]