Posted: Jan. 11, 2009

Environmental leaders are questioning how Waukesha's proposal to dump 9 million to 24 million gallons of treated wastewater daily into Underwood Creek would affect the quality of Milwaukee waterways and millions of dollars of flood-control and stream restoration projects.

In a meeting last week with Journal Sentinel reporters and editors, the group asked that the $60 million proposal to ship Lake Michigan water via pipelines to Waukesha be slowed to allow time for more dialogue and study about the potential effects.

The group has submitted questions to Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson that delve into technical details and show concern over the role of the state Department of Natural Resources in approving Waukesha's application to get lake water.

If Waukesha is allowed to receive lake water, it must return a like amount in the form of treated sewage to the lake, under new federal legislation that generally bans diverting Great Lakes water to areas outside their basins.

The group included Doug Cherkauer, a geoscience professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Val Klump, director of the UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute; Steve Schmuki, president of the Waukesha County Environmental Action League; Jodi Habush Sinykin, a lawyer for Midwest Environmental Advocates; Cheryl Nenn, executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper; and Peter McAvoy, a vice president for the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center.

Waukesha is contemplating depositing its returned wastewater into Underwood Creek, near the Milwaukee County Grounds, largely because it would be less costly than building a return pipe to the lake.

That plan contains an important detail as yet unanswered by Waukesha, Cherkauer said: If Waukesha's design to return wastewater to the creek encounters problems, who pays to correct them?

And Nenn raised questions about the impact the dumping would have on restoration efforts in Underwood Creek and the downstream Menomonee River.

"We are also concerned about what the impacts will be on aquatic and natural resources," she said.

Nenn warned about the risk of compromising expensive restoration projects.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is spending $100 million to build a tunnel and detention basin to prevent flooding and to remove concrete to naturalize the creek near the Milwaukee County Grounds. MMSD is also spending $48 million on flood-control measures around Hart Park in Wauwatosa.

Goal to improve creek

Waukesha Water Utility Manager Dan Duchniak said the city's goal is to improve and enhance Underwood Creek with its return flow. The increased flow would improve water quality in the usually low-flowing creek, he said.

During high flow or flooding, Waukesha would stop sending wastewater to Underwood Creek, diverting it to the Fox River, he said.

Duchniak said he had reviewed the questions and would respond. Most were answered during the city's application development, which will be a public record, he said.

The city now averages about 8 million gallons of water use daily, going as high as 10 million gallons during peak demand periods. Duchniak projects that by 2035, the city's peak demand would be about 20 million gallons daily, with a daily average of about 12 million gallons.

Todd Ambs, the DNR's water division administrator, said his agency was ready to accept and review applications for water diversions.

Ambs said the Great Lakes compact already details in depth what is and is not acceptable, and the DNR would follow those guidelines.

Habush Sinykin said much of the compact is vague and needs to be fleshed out with more precise language before a diversion application should be allowed for review or to move forward.

Sinykin questioned how the other Great Lake states - all eight must approve Waukesha's request - would respond when some still lack their own legal measures for diversion inquiries.

Regardless of the concerns, Nelson, the Waukesha mayor, said he would press forward with the application. The Waukesha Common Council and Water Utility Commission must approve the application and financing for the project.

Nelson has said Waukesha would submit an application that could be used as a model for communities around the Great Lakes.