Politics & Government
Waukesha Water Cost Increases 'On Target' With Pipeline 72% Complete
Waukesha's water pipeline out to Lake Michigan reached 29 of 36 miles. Utility officials said they expect future rates to be on target.
WAUKESHA, WI — As Waukesha's pipeline project to bring in water from Lake Michigan gears up for completion in 2023, residents can expect their bills to increase in the coming years.
The average residential customer will see a bill of around $149 per month by 2027, up from the current average of $95 per month, according to a news release from the Great Water Alliance. The Waukesha Water Utility project stands at 72 percent completion overall including 29 of the 36 miles of pipeline and a pumping station near East Broadway and Les Paul Parkway.
The pipeline project comes as Waukesha's groundwater supply became unsustainable to use in the long term. Plus, the groundwater supply is contaminated with radium, and full compliance with federal standards must be met by Sept. 2023, according to a news release from the GWA.
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The pipeline will bring water in from Lake Michigan near Milwaukee and then return it to the Root River, which then returns to Lake Michigan, the release said. The project will bring water rate increases over the coming years, but officials said new estimates are on target with the estimates made at the beginning.
Officials pointed out the new rate prediction is actually lower than an estimation made in a 2018 mailer to city residents.
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SEE ALSO: New Waukesha Water Supply Project 50% Complete
“Despite a number of major challenges, including current shortages of supplies and labor, water rates at the end of the project will be in line with the estimates we gave to residents at the start of the project,” said Dan Duchniak in a news release, general manager of the Waukesha Water Utility. “The city, the utility and our contractors are all committed to keeping the cost of water in line with what we told our ratepayers.”
The climb in rates still has to go through a process with t he Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which will take about a year for approval, according to the GWA.
The cost changes will happen at different rates over the years. In 2023 rates will hike to about $100 per month, just 5.3 percent, but in 2024 rates will hike by 14.4 percent and in 2025 costs will grow by 17.6 percent, according to the news release.
“Every community needs a healthy water supply,” said Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly in the release. “Providing safe water that we can count on for the long-term has been a goal of city leaders for the past two decades, but it will finally be a reality for our families and businesses next year."
“There was no do-nothing option. Our alternatives were thoroughly explored and the
switch to Lake Michigan water was the most affordable alternative,” he said. “All the Great
Lakes states and provinces agreed that it was our only reasonable water supply alternative.”
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