Vrakas to outline water plan for county

Conservation is 1st step for Waukesha, he says

By DARRYL ENRIQUEZ
denriquez@journalsentinel.com

Posted: March 24, 2006

Waukesha County's executive plans to announce a countywide water-conservation initiative today to cut down on water use, and possibly help thirsty communities pursue major new sources of water, including Lake Michigan and pristine groundwater in the county's western areas.

"Whatever solution to our water troubles is considered, water conservation must be the first thing that's implemented," County Executive Dan Vrakas said Friday.

Vrakas said he wants experts to examine water-saving methods ranging from repairing leaky toilets to implementing new land-use plans. He has instructed Dale Shaver, director of the Waukesha County Department of Parks and Land Use, to create an advisory group, called the Waukesha County Conservation Coalition, by the end of April.

The Waukesha Water Utility, which is feeling the brunt of shrinking drinking water supplies, is working with Shaver on staffing the panel and on creating an area-wide conservation initiative, Nancy Quirk, the utility's technical services manager, confirmed Friday.

Vrakas is to unveil his proposal at a symposium on water conservation hosted by Carroll College.

Quirk, at a "breakout session," will discuss the city's water conservation plan, which was approved March 16 by the water utility's commissioners.

Vrakas said that many members of the planned coalition will be recruited from the environmental groups that put together the 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. symposium, which is open to the public. Admission costs $10 and includes a lunch.

"We support the effort, and believe that the conservation message should be the same throughout the county," Quirk said of the Vrakas initiative.

"Any new future water source will need a conservation component with it," she said.

Because Waukesha is outside the Great Lakes basin, it must receive permission from the Council of Great Lakes Governors, which oversees the resource, to draw water from Lake Michigan. The council requires that water conservation techniques be used by any community that petitions for permission to withdraw Great Lakes water, she said.

The coalition will not be asked to wade into the debate on which particular alternative sources of water should be the ones pursued, Vrakas said.

Melissa Scanlan, an attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates from Milwaukee, said that Waukesha and neighboring communities with an interest in Lake Michigan water must first implement aggressive water conservation techniques in order to fairly judge whether outside water sources are needed.

Vrakas said he sees the conservation coalition initiating the following strategies:

• Working with municipalities and developers to promote the county's newly adopted storm-water runoff standards to ensure that rainfall and snowmelt can recharge shallow underground water supplies.

• Supporting efforts to fund and participate in a regional water supply study by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

• Encouraging partnerships with builders and real estate associations to promote the use of low-impact development practices on land.

"Tackling water conservation on a countywide basis is cost efficient and makes a lot of sense," Vrakas said. "It sends a consistent message."