Chesterton Tribune

 

 

Save the Dunes stops short of opposing diversion of Lake Michigan water

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Save the Dunes is responding cautiously to the approval of an application by the City of Waukesha, Wis., to divert Great Lakes water.

That application has been approved--after years of review and deliberation--by the State of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Regional Body and Compact Council.

Enacted in 2008, the Compact sets standards for water use within the Great Lakes basin and bans--with limited exceptions--diversions outside of the basin. One of the exceptions to the diversion ban is eligible to communities which straddle the basin line or are located within a county that straddles the basin line. Such “straddling” communities must meet certain criteria established by the Compact in order to be granted a diversion.

Waukesha was specifically granted a diversion due to high levels of naturally occurring radium in its groundwater supply. That diversion was unanimously approved by the Great Lakes governors, who did, however, attach several conditions to it.

“We appreciate the level of engagement and thoughtfulness demonstrated by the Great Lakes Regional Body and Compact Council in reviewing Waukesha’s diversion application,” said Cathy Martin, program manager for Save the Dunes. “Waukesha’s diversion application as submitted did not meet the standards of the Great Lakes Compact, and we feel that the conditions adopted by the Compact Council acknowledged those inconsistencies and improved the proposal’s compliance with the law.”

Along with other organizations in the Great Lakes region, Save the Dunes has voiced concerns over Waukesha’s diversion proposal. “While further review of the added conditions is needed to assess their ability to adequately uphold the standards of the Compact, in our preliminary assessment we are encouraged to see the conditions addressing some of our larger concerns,” Martin said.

Despite the improvements made to the original diversion proposal, Save the Dunes still believes that alternative water supply sources which would not require a diversion of Great Lakes water are available to Waukesha. “It is important to note that the water diverted by Waukesha must be returned to the Great Lakes basin, as required by the Compact,” Save the Dunes said.

Because the Waukesha diversion application is the first since the Compact was adopted, it is a critical test of the Compact’s effectiveness and serves as a precedent for subsequent diversion proposals. “The work to monitor the Waukesha diversion process does not end here,” Martin said. “It is key that Great Lakes advocates and the Compact Council remain heavily engaged in this process to ensure that the requirements under the Great Lakes Compact and specific conditions are enforced and the integrity of the Great Lakes Compact is upheld.”

 

Posted 6/23/2016

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

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