A: Waukesha’s existing primary groundwater supply does not comply with safe drinking water standards and is environmentally unsustainable.
The unanimous approval by the Great Lakes states found that none of Waukesha’s alternatives to Great Lakes water are “reliable sources for a long-term, dependable, and sustainable public water supply.”
The existing water supply — a deep aquifer — is depleted, due in part to a natural formation (a thick layer of shale rock) that restricts rain and snowmelt from naturally percolating through the ground and recharging it. As water levels have decreased, levels of naturally occurring contaminants such as radium have increased. Long-term use of the aquifer is not sustainable, and continuing to pump it until exhaustion would be expensive to treat to remove contaminants and environmentally irresponsible.
Waukesha’s secondary water source is shallow groundwater wells. Adding new shallow groundwater wells would have permanent environmental impacts on valued brooks and streams, as well as nearby wetland habitats in environmentally sensitive areas.