The first real test case for the landmark water-withdrawal agreement known as the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact, or simply the Great Lakes compact, is now one for the books.
The city of Waukesha, Wis. has prevailed in its defense of a 2016 permit it received to divert Lake Michigan water to its community 20 miles west of Milwaukee.
On Thursday, Waukesha got the knockout decision it was seeking when representatives of the eight Great Lakes states on the regional compact council unanimously rejected an appeal from the Chicago-based Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, which has been working with the nearby city of Racine, Wis., 30 miles south of Milwaukee, to oppose Waukesha's plan.
“Today was a tremendous day for the citizens of Waukesha and the future of our city,” Waukesha Mayor Shawn N. Reilly said in response to the decision. "The decision was based on facts, science and the Great Lakes Compact Council’s exacting standards for borrowing and returning Great Lakes water. The Compact Council made the right call last year, and unanimously affirmed that today. We appreciate their dedication in examining the facts of our application and how our circumstances are unique.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn N. Reilly making a presentation earlier this year. THE BLADE/TOM HENRY
Waukesha - the hometown of rock 'n' roll guitar pioneer Les Paul - has become the battleground for one of North America's fiercest water wars.
Seen outside Wisconsin as a test of the regional compact's strength, Waukesha's ability to start diverting 8.2 million gallons a day of treated Lake Michigan water to that city is seen inside Wisconsin as more of a battle over sewage and perceived risks of exposure to it.
Racine doesn't want Waukesha's sewage coming into its community, no matter what assurances are made.
Waukesha has naturally occurring radium in its groundwater. It is under orders from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve uncertainty over its future water supply.
Besides radium, there are too many salts and minerals and a potentially toxic stew of arsenic, fly ash, chloride, and other pollutants in the city's groundwater.
The situation is apparently manageable in the short term.
But it is expected to worsen in the coming years because of a shale barrier that's 150 feet deep and - in the eyes of Waukesha officials - preventing its aquifer from recharging, although some critics dispute that claim.
So, after years of engineering studies and political debate, Waukesha landed a contract to start buying from nearby Oak Creek, Wis., within a few years.
“All I know is my people are afraid,” Racine Mayor John Dickert told a group of journalists Jan. 6. THE BLADE/TOM HENRY
Waukesha originally sought 10.1 million gallons a day from Oak Creek. The approved flow 8.2 million gallons a day is about 20 percent less.
But that hasn't alleviated Racine's concerns about the quality of 8.2 million gallons a day of treated wastewater, or effluent, Waukesha plans to put into the Root River to make up for what is taken from the lake on its behalf.
Waukesha maintains the fears expressed by Racine's outgoing mayor, John Dickert, are unfounded - that it will put water of a better quality into the Root.
Much of Racine's economy is built around its Lake Michigan beach tourism; hence, Mr. Dickert's anxiety.
Racine's North Beach is considered one of North America's best freshwater beaches.
“All I know is my people are afraid,” Mayor Dickert told a group of journalists Jan. 6. “This beach is our No. 1 tourist attraction.”
Mr. Reilly said he hopes the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative - which represents 128 cities around the region - will now work with Racine to "join us in creating a world-class water program that will not only serve our community well into the next century but also be the standard for sustainability and protecting our Great Lakes while improving the quality of the Root River.”
Mr. Dickert announced March 27 he is stepping down as mayor this summer to replace Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative David Ullrich, a former U.S. EPA Midwest regional chief who has been the group's executive director since its inception.
The compact was written to keep large-scale diversions from happening outside of the Great Lakes basin.
There has been talk for years of someday piping Great Lakes water to the arid Southwest. In 1998, a Canadian firm called the Nova Group secured a permit to ship Lake Superior water to Asia, then agreed to relinquish after an international uproar ensued. That case led to the compact, which was adopted by the states, ratified by Congress, and signed into law by then-President George W. Bush in 2008.
The Root River, as it appeared in January. THE BLADE/TOM HENRY
David Ullrich, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative executive director, has announced he is stepping down later this year. He is being replaced by Racine Mayor John Dickert. THE BLADE/TOM HENRY
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