Waukesha's request to Use Lake Michigan water likely to get Approval

A west suburb of Milwaukee requested to use Lake Michigan water. The request is moving forward after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources carried out a five-year review on the request.

The officials said that the city of Waukesha's request can get green signal under an interstate Great Lakes protection compact. The city would not be able to meet the need of water that it requires through stricter conservation.

Eric Ebersberger, the department's water use section chief, said that the decision on the request will be made in December. Approval will also be needed from other Great Lakes states as well. If the request is permitted then Waukesha would not use wells that take water from radium-contaminated water from an aquifer. By June 2018, the city has to have radium-safe water, as ordered by the court.