Letter to The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, c/o Council of Great Lakes Governors - Oppose Waukesha Water Diversion Plan

Letter

Dear Compact Council Alternates and Secretariat:

As members of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, you will meet in just one week to determine the application by Waukesha, Wisconsin to divert 8.2 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan. We strongly urge you to vote against this proposal not just for the benefit of our great state of Michigan but for the benefit of the entire Great Lakes region.

Our argument is simple: the Great Lakes Compact was specifically designed to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes and approving this application is setting a bad precedent. While it is true that Waukesha finds itself in a difficult position with high levels of radium and other contaminants in its groundwater supply, we firmly believe the critical elements of the Compact have not been met and there is no justification for an exception. Furthermore, the delicate ecosystem of the Great Lakes is also at stake because of both the quantity of water being diverted from it and the quality of water that may be replaced in it.

The integrity of the Compact is being tested for the first time with this request and it is critical that the impetus to its creation be considered. Opening our Great Lakes to a municipality that is outside of the Great Lakes Basin boundary lines and one that has not exhausted other options is certain to generate new requests that will thus demand to be held to the same reduced standard of eligibility.

Over the past several months, elected officials, environmental groups, and interested citizens have voiced their concerns on this application. There have been more questions raised than answers provided. It would seem prudent that such an important, precedent-setting decision to open the Compact be reserved for a circumstance where the public support and factual record indicate a clear answer.

We appreciate the difficulty in making this decision. However, Waukesha has had many years in which to research and find a remedy and there is not an urgent need to push this decision through right now.

All eight governors must approve this application for the diversion to occur. You have the influence and the authority to reject this by one, single vote. We ask you to do so on behalf of the millions of people who rely on the Great Lakes for clean water.

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