Waukesha Set To Switch To Lake Michigan Water In Late Summer 2023

WAUKESHA, WI — After Waukesha switches over its water supply to Lake Michigan in the late summer, residents can expect their bills to go up, but not beyond what was already expected, officials said in a news release Friday.

The costs to switch Waukesha from groundwater to Lake Michigan water will be reflected with incremental bill increases starting by the fall of 2023 and 2024, the news release said. The switch comes as the city is required to negate the naturally occurring radium contamination of its groundwater supply by fall 2023.

“Waukesha is switching in late summer this year to a water supply that is safe and sustainable for the long term,” according to Dan Duchniak, general manager of the Waukesha Water Utility. “The program continues to be on time and on budget, despite a number of major challenges along the way, including shortages of supplies and labor. Water rate projections are on target with the estimates we gave when we were starting the project back in 2016.”

New infrastructure for the change included booster pumping stations in Milwaukee and Waukesha, water storage, an elevated storage tank, a return flow pump and 36 miles of pipeline to take in and return Lake Michigan's water. Known as the Great Water Alliance, the project broke ground in 2020 with an estimated $286 million price tag. Duchniak, however, said the overall final costs are expected to be slightly less.

Residents may be seeing notices already in their bills about the expected rate increases and a July 19 Wisconsin Public Service Commission meeting that will hear the rate case.

“It is important for customers to understand that this required notice is only about the water supply rates being determined by the PSC,” Duchniak said. “Those rates will likely take effect in October of 2023 and 2024, as the costs of the new water supply construction is accounted for. The wastewater and return flow charges on your bill are not expected to increase at those times. That means the percentage increase shown on the bill insert only applies to the water supply portion of your bill; the total bill will not increase by that large of a percentage.”

The typical residential customer, based on an average use of around 4,000 gallons of water per month, can expect their bills for supply, waste and return flow to increase in the coming years on this schedule:

• Current rate of $102 per month.
• October 2023 increase to $117 per month (+14.7 percent).
• October 2024 increase to $135 per month (+15.4 percent).
• January 2026 increase to $147 per month (+8.9 percent).
• January 2027 increase to $154 per month (+4.8 percent).

Although costs for supply are set to increase, Duchniak notes residents can offset costs by reducing how much they spend on water softening.

“Lake Michigan water is at least 60 percent softer than our current groundwater. Families will be able to save substantial amounts optimizing or eliminating their water softeners,” he said.

Residents can find additional information on water softeners ahead of the supply switch at waukesha-wi.gov/watersoftener. Residents can also expect more information about the transition and its timing through their bills and social media, or at http://www.greatwateralliance.com/transition.

“There was no do-nothing option. Our alternatives were thoroughly explored and the switch to Lake Michigan water was the most affordable alternative,” Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said in the news release. “Even the Great Lakes states that were required to review and unanimously approve our project all agreed that it is our only reasonable water supply alternative.”

Reilly noted the plans have been 20 years in the making to ensure Waukesha has safe water in the long-term, and said the city has done all it can to keep costs in line.

"We worked with the federal government, including our congressmen and senators, to receive low-cost financing that will reduce interest costs by about $1 million per year," said Reilly. "A federal grant also is helping to pay for the cost of the elevated storage tank. And the agreement we negotiated in 2017 to purchase water from the City of Milwaukee will save the average residential ratepayer over $200 per year, compared to other suppliers."