When is it OK to Take Water from Lake Michigan?
A city in Wisconsin is asking for permission to divert Lake Michigan’s water.
It’s safe to say that most Michiganders and many others living around the Great Lakes aren’t too keen on the idea of diverting or selling water from any of the five lakes. That’s why a proposal from the City of Waukesha, Wisconsin has conservation organizations on guard. It would be the first time since eight states and two Canadian provinces signed the 2008 Great Lakes Compact which details how the states manage the use of the Great Lakes Basin’s water supply.
Mike Shriberg is the Regional Executive Director of the National Wildlife Federation. He joined Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson to discuss details on this new proposal.
- City vs. the Compact: Shriberg says that Waukesha has not met the requirements necessary to divert Great Lakes water, as laid out in the Compact.
- Other Potential Water Sources: Shriberg says the city still has other options like utilizing sources of water in the Mississippi River Basin or cleaning up their current water resource, instead of diverting water from Lake Michigan.
Click on the audio link above to hear the conversation.
