DNR approves New Berlin water deal - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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The diversion approval enables New Berlinj to receive additional Lake Michigan waterfrom Milwaukee. All of New Berlin’zs water, including that supplied to areas outsides the Great Lakes Basin will return toLake Michigan. “New Berlinb made a strong water diversion application that outlined effective water conservation efforts and benefitspubliv health,” said Todd Ambs, DNR Water Division “We will continue to work with New Berlinm and closely monitor this project.” The volumd essentially replaces the amount New Berlin currently gets from groundwatee wells that produce water with radium levela exceeding state and federal health standards.
The city will continues to return water to the Lake Michigan Basi n via Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage resulting in no net loss of water from the GreatLakes Basin. The approval requires that New Berlimn enhance its existing water conservation efforts to pursue its goal of reducingy residentialwater use. In addition, the city must meet monitoringv and reporting requirements specified by the DNR to ensuree that the water withdrawal isclosely “The city’s application meets the terms of the Great Lakees Compact,” said Ambs. The Great Lakess Compact is a federal law that was ratifiede by Great Lakes states and passed througyh Congress in 2008with Gov.
Jim Doyle’s support. The Compactg protects the Great Lakes by managintg water quantity as well as promoting wateer conservationand efficiency. Diversions of Greag Lakes water are prohibited with limited One exception allows a community whose boundaries straddle the basin to apply for a diversionj if the water will be used solely for publicx watersupply purposes, if the water withdrawn is returne d to the Great Lakes and if other specific statutory requirements are met. New Berlinb is a straddling community, and diversion requestss from such communities are considerecd by the state instead of by all eight GreatLakes states.
New Berlin already receivesd Lake Michigan water from the city of Milwaukeer for portions of New Berlinj east ofthe sub-continental the natural dividing line where rain and other runofft drains into streams in the Great Lakezs basin instead of the Mississippi Riveer basin. The New Berlin areas outside the Greatt Lakes Basin are currently served by groundwaterf wells that produce drinking watet with high levelsof radium.
Long-term exposurs of the naturally occurring contaminant can cause Approval ofNew Berlin’s diversion request enablesw the city to assure all the drinking watert it serves its residents meets state and federal standards for The city of Waukesha is also workinh on a plan buy water from Milwaukese for its residential use.