WAUKESHA, Wis. — It’s been more than 20 years in the making, but the City of Waukesha is finally transitioning to a new water supply system that will draw from Lake Michigan, helping to sustain its livability and economic viability as more businesses consider Waukesha as a hub for manufacturing and headquarters.
To break it down, WTMJ N.O.W.’s Steve Scaffidi and Sandy Maxx welcomed Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly and Waukesha Water Utility GM Dan Duchniak on the program so they could explain the intricacies of this process for Wisconsin’s listeners.
“Without getting a new water supply, the city itself would be in trouble,” Mayor Reilly told Scaffidi and Maxx. “A city doesn’t survive without a water supply, and we had to find a brand new one, not try to fix the old one, because it was really unfixable.
“It was very complex, it’s a huge undertaking, but I’m glad to say we’ve actually accomplished it.”
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed that an average of 8.2 million gallons of lake water will be diverted to Waukesha on a daily basis. This came following a decades-long process of conversations, research and pitches to leaders in the Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces, who uphold a pact that restricts non-lakefront communities from drawing Lake Michigan’s water.
However, communities on the basin’s boundaries are eligible to have that restriction lifted in order to serve the needs of the people. This has been a long and necessary process for Waukesha leaders as their previous water systems grew increasingly ineffective.
“You had to show no other reasonable option, and after they went through all of our information, our data, our science, they made the decision that ‘Yeah, they meet the requirement,'” Mayor Reilly said. “Some of them may not have liked it, but they knew that the compact itself was being tested, because if they said no without a valid basis, then the compact would be in danger.”
This process is expected to take place over five days between September 14 and 18. Water will flow from the east side of Waukesha through the west with cul-de-sacs and other similarly secluded areas taking a bit longer to reach during that initial timeframe.
As minerals pass through the pipes, residents can expect their water to turn red. Duchniak also confirmed that more chlorine will be added to the system to help limit any contaminants from getting pushed through the system. Waukesha leaders expect any lingering smell or taste issues in the water to clear within a month. After that period of increased chlorine usage, leaders will bring those levels back to an average level.
Much of the priority in making this shift, beyond the health and safety of Waukesha residents, was to maintain the progress of Waukesha’s burgeoning business community. Mayor Reilly told Scaffidi and Maxx that local businesses have been supportive of this transition because of what it means for the future of the region.
“In the next 10-to-20 years, businesses are going to be looking at water as one of the major drivers for where they locate, and we’re gonna be assured that we’ll have a strong, sustainable water supply, but just for our businesses now, it’s just huge. There’s no question,” Mayor Reilly said.
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