Waukesha Freeman
December 18, 2018
By Cara Spoto
Undeveloped agricultural parcel would be used for booster station, reservoirs
Waukesha — A piece of agricultural land at the southeastern edge of Minooka Park could one day be home to a key piece of infrastructure needed to bring Great Lakes water to taps across the city of Waukesha.
When the Waukesha County Board gathers this evening, it will consider selling the 8.57-acre parcel to Waukesha for $223,000 for use as the future site of a booster pumping station and water storage reservoirs.
Located near the corner of Swartz Road and Racine Avenue, the land had originally been eyed as a site for a golf course, states a Waukesha Water Utility memo, but the county no longer plans to increase the number of golf courses it owns. County staff also feel the parcel is too small for other types of development, the memo states.
According to Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak, the booster station and reservoirs will be a benefit to the city because they will give the utility greater control over the quality and amount of water that enters Waukesha’s system.
“When we went through everything, it was determined that it would be best for any (Great Lakes Water supplier) to just put the water into storage tanks before it comes into the city,” Duchniak said. “That way if there is any (extra treatment) that needs to take place, we can do it in one spot, and then we have control of the pumping of the water into our system. It makes the operations very clean.”
What’s next
The County Board will vote on the sale at 6:30 p.m. this evening at the Waukesha County Courthouse, 515 W. Moreland Blvd.
The Waukesha Water Commission will then consider the Waukesha Water Utility’s recommendation to purchase the property when it gathers at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening at 115 Delafield St.
The Plan Commission will be the next panel to consider the proposal before the Common Council is asked to cast its vote on the purchase.
Should the deal be approved by all parties, the expectation is that the utility would begin construction on the booster station and reservoirs in the fall of 2020.
Duchniak said the utility hopes to have all the projects associated with the Great Lakes water project bid out by the end of next year.