Great Lakes group gives preliminary approval of Waukesha's water request

WAUKESHA — Representatives of Great Lakes states and provinces have given preliminary approval to a precedent-setting request by a Wisconsin city to draw water from Lake Michigan.

City officials want to take water from Lake Michigan and return the treated waste water to the lake.

The regional group, which includes eight states and two Canadian provinces, agreed that the water diversion application by the City of Waukesha complies with a Great Lakes protection compact if certain conditions are met, including an average limit of 8.2 million gallons a day.

Minnesota abstained from voting during a conference call Wednesday, May 18th.

The DNR says Waukesha's current system, which draws water from an aquifer, isn't sustainable and vulnerable to contamination.

Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly issued the following statement on this matter:

The Wisconsin Compact Implementation Coalition responded to Wednesday's vote with this statement:

Governors of the eight states, or their representatives, will meet in Chicago in late June to consider the regional group's conditional approval and vote on Waukesha's request.

The city says it doesn't have an adequate drinking water supply because of radium contamination in its groundwater.