![\"Waukesha](\"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Waukesha-diversion.jpg\")
<\/a>The Great Lakes Compact<\/a>, an agreement between Wisconsin and the other Great Lakes states, generally operates as a ban on new and increased diversions of Great Lakes water outside the Great Lakes basin, with certain limited exceptions.\u00a0 One of those exceptions allows communities located outside the basin, but within counties that straddle the basin line, to apply for a diversion.\u00a0 Waukesha is the first community to apply for a diversion under that exception.\u00a0 Its application has drawn close attention locally and nationally.\u00a0 The Compact sets out strict requirements for such applications.\u00a0 To succeed, the City\u2019s application must demonstrate that it has \u201cno reasonable water supply alternative,\u201d that its need cannot be reasonably avoided through the efficient use and conservation of existing water supplies, and that it will cause no significant adverse impacts to the quantity or quality of the water used, among other legal requirements<\/a>.\u00a0 Under the terms of the Compact, all eight Great Lakes governors (or their designees) have veto power over the application.<\/p>\nDuring the \u201cOn the Issues\u201d program, the two mayors agreed on the importance of regional cooperation on water and other pressing issues (although both lamented the absence of that cooperation in this particular case), but not on much else.\u00a0 In a respectful but pointed discussion, they staked out opposing positions on the pending application.<\/p>\n
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Faced with a \u201cdeclining, contaminated\u201d aquifer, Waukesha is under a court order to find a new water source by June 2018. \u00a0Mayor Reilly observed that the City has studied potential solutions to its water crisis for over a decade and concluded that the Great Lakes supply is the \u201conly reasonable option\u201d for the City to pursue.\u00a0 He noted that the state Department of Natural Resources has worked on the application for five years and reached the same conclusion.<\/p>\n
After using the water, Waukesha will be required to treat it and return it to Lake Michigan via the Root River, which flows through Racine.\u00a0 Mayor Dickert voiced concerns related to flooding and increased pollutants such as phosphorus and pharmaceuticals related to the increased flow.\u00a0 The diversion would adversely affect recreational activities in Racine, he asserted.\u00a0 Mayor Reilly responded that he would \u201cput [the Waukesha] treatment facility up against any treatment facility in the state,\u201d and assured the audience that the wastewater returned to the Lake will be fully treated to levels that satisfy all applicable state standards.\u00a0 The increased flow will actually improve water quality in the river, he said.<\/p>\n
The mayors also clashed on whether granting the Waukesha application would ease the path for increased diversions in the future.\u00a0 \u201cThe battle over water has just begun,\u201d Mayor Dickert said.\u00a0 He expressed concern that if the Waukesha application succeeds, dozens of additional municipalities will seek to \u201cstick a straw in the lake.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c[Mayor Reilly] is fighting for his city; I\u2019m fighting for the long term interest of the Great Lakes,\u201d Dickert said.\u00a0 Mayor Reilly responded that the relevant precedent was set when the Compact was signed.\u00a0 Its standards are fact-based and clear, he said, and the parties can\u2019t be selective about when to follow them.<\/p>\n
In response to a question from the audience, Mayor Reilly voiced confidence that the application will succeed, but noted that if it fails for \u201cpolitical reasons,\u201d the City will review its legal options to challenge the decision.<\/p>\n
More information about the application can be found here<\/a> and here<\/a>.\u00a0 The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body (\u201cthe Regional Body\u201d) and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council (\u201cthe Compact Council\u201d) are accepting public comments on the application until March 14, 2016.\u00a0 A briefing meeting and public hearing on the application will be held February 17-18 in Waukesha<\/a>.\u00a0 Both are open to the public. A final decision on the application is expected in late May or early June.<\/p>\n