WAUKESHA - Waukesha will probably know in the next few months whether it will be allowed to connect to Lake Michigan for its drinking water.
But the question remains whether that is the right direction for the city - and even some other municipalities - to take.
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2005/August_05/08262005_06.asp
That is the question -- should communities outside the Great Lakes Basin have access to Great Lakes water? Especially when they have not thoroughly examined all alternatives including water conservation, have been sprawling, and complain about the cost of returning the water to the Lakes from which it came.
The draft agreements that are out for public comment until day's end would permit Waukesha to make a bid for Great Lakes water, but it's a high hurdle. Not just return flow to Lake Michigan but also unanimous approval of all eight Great Lakes governors. Still, it's a slightly wider door opening than current law.
And the question is, once you have artificially extended the boundary of the Great Lakes to include nearby communities, can you keep that boundary from billowing outward farther in future years?