Nearly 100 people attended an important open house in April, held by the Great Water Alliance and the Milwaukee Water Works to provide information on the water supply program, answer questions, and take comments. Attendees at the event, held at Hamilton High School in Milwaukee, spoke with project representatives, received project details and discussed the three pipeline route options and plans for the pumping station that will send water from Milwaukee to Waukesha.
Dan Duchniak, Waukesha Water Utility general manager, pointed out the size of a pumping station is only about the size of a 40 feet by 60 feet house. Duchniak said that often, pump stations are designed to look like surrounding properties, such as a house if in a neighborhood, or small brick building if it is in a park, for example. Milwaukee will design and build the pumping station.
Some attendees asked about the reasoning and benefits to the collaboration between Waukesha purchasing the water supply from Milwaukee which include Waukesha residents receiving a safe and reliable water supply at a reduced cost compared to other sources, and Milwaukee receiving millions of dollars per years in new revenue for the role in delivering water to Waukesha providing opportunity for Milwaukee to utilize available system capacity.