Wisconsin agency to advance Waukesha water diversion bid to Great Lakes governors →

Wisconsin agency to advance Waukesha water diversion bid to Great Lakes governors - Star Tribune, December 8, 2015

WAUKESHA, Wis. — A bid by Waukesha to tap Lake Michigan water is moving forward, after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday that the city's request meets the requirements of the Great Lakes protection compact.

The agency said it will forward the request to the Conference of Great Lakes Governors for review in the next 30 to 60 days, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Waukesha, in the Milwaukee area, is only 15 miles from Lake Michigan but outside its watershed, although it's in a county that straddles the line. The regional compact requires Waukesha to get permission from all eight states that drain into the Great Lakes before withdrawing their water.

The Conference of Great Lakes Governors expects to hold public meetings and complete the multistate review within six months.

The city's request also will be forwarded to the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec for comment, but only the governors of the eight U.S. states — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio — will vote on the application.

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