June 2015 City of Waukesha Proposed Great Lakes Diversion DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES To the Reader In October 2013, the City of Waukesha (Applicant) submitted a revised Application for a Lake Michigan Diversion with Return Flow (Application) to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Department), updating the original version of the Application submitted in May 2010. The Application contained five Volumes (Vol.): Vol. 1 – Application Summary Vol. 2 – City of Waukesha Water Supply Service Area Plan Vol. 3 – City of Waukesha Water Conservation Plan Vol. 4 – City of Waukesha Return Flow Plan Vol. 5 – City of Waukesha Environmental Report for Water Supply Alternatives Because the City of Waukesha lies within a county that straddles the Great Lakes surface water divide, it is eligible to seek an exception from the prohibition of diversions under the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement (Agreement) and Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (Compact). The Agreement is a good faith agreement between the Great Lake States and Provinces to manage water quantity in the Great Lakes Basin. The Agreement is implemented in the United States through the Compact—a legally binding contract among the eight Great Lakes States. The Applicant seeks to obtain a Lake Michigan water supply as a solution to its current water supply problems that include elevated levels of radium in the drinking water supply above the drinking water standard. The Applicant is currently under a state court order to meet the state and federal radium drinking water standard by 2018. This document is a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), prepared by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Department) in compliance with ch. NR 150, Wisconsin Administrative Code, and s. 1.11 Wisconsin Statutes. The purpose of an EIS is to inform decision-makers and the public of the anticipated effects on the quality of the human environment of a proposed action or project and alternatives to the proposed action or project. The EIS is an informational tool—it is not a decision document. This EIS explains the City of Waukesha’s proposal to use water from Lake Michigan (in order to meet its water supply needs) and return wastewater to the Lake Michigan basin as required by the Agreement and Compact. The EIS analyzes potential impacts of alternative water supply, and return flow options, for meeting the City’s needs. In addition, the Department has prepared a draft Technical Review, a requirement of Article 201of the Agreement, section 4.9 of the Compact, and Wisconsin’s Compact implementing legislation (s. 281.346(4)(e)1.f., Wis. Stats.). The draft Technical Review outlines the Department’s findings related to the Agreement, Compact and Wisconsin’s Compact implementing statutes. You are encouraged to comment on this draft EIS. The comment period on this draft EIS will run through August 28, 2015. Written comments should be addressed to: Draft EIS Version 1.2 i Ashley Hoekstra WDNR Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater PO Box 7921 Madison, WI 53707-7921 Or by email to: [email protected] The Department will review public comments related to the draft Technical Review and the EIS. The Department will prepare a Final EIS that includes a summary and response to public comments on the Draft EIS. If it finds the Application approvable, the Department will forward the Application to the Great Lakes States, and Quebec and Ontario through the Regional Body and Compact Council for review and decision as required by the Agreement and Compact. The Regional Body is the governing body of the Agreement and includes the Great Lakes premiers and governors. The Compact Council is the governing body of the Compact and includes the Great Lakes governors. Throughout this process Great Lakes Tribes and First Nations will also be informed of the proposal and provided opportunities to comment. The Compact Council and Regional Body will need to make a determination that the diversion is approved before any state permits can be processed for the diversion proposal. The Applicant would need to acquire all permits and approvals for the diversion from the State of Wisconsin before the Department would approve the diversion. The Department maintains a website with information related to the Applicant’s diversion application, including the public participation process, communications with the Applicant, and other supporting materials. Draft EIS Version 1.2 ii Table of Contents To the Reader ................................................................................................................................................. i Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... x Acronyms and Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... xii Section 1 Introduction and Project Summary ............................................................................................... 1 1 Proposed Projection ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Process Summary ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose and need for proposed project ..................................................................................... 2 1.3 Water supply for proposed project ............................................................................................ 2 1.4 Return flow for proposed project .............................................................................................. 3 1.5 Authorities and approvals for proposed project ........................................................................ 3 Section 2 Project Alternatives ....................................................................................................................... 6 2 Project Alternatives ........................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 No Action Alternatives ............................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Water Supply alternatives ......................................................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Mississippi River basin supply alternatives .......................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Lake Michigan supply alternatives ..................................................................................... 12 2.3 Return flow Alternatives ......................................................................................................... 15 2.3.1 Mississippi River basin return flow alternative .................................................................. 15 2.3.2 Lake Michigan return flow alternatives .............................................................................. 16 2.3.3 Other alternatives not considered in detail .......................................................................... 19 Section 3 Affected Environment ................................................................................................................. 23 3 Affected Environment ..................................................................................................................... 23 3.1 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................................... 23 3.1.1 Surficial and bedrock geology ............................................................................................ 23 3.1.2 Soils ..................................................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Lake Michigan ........................................................................................................................ 32 3.2.1 Physical description and floodplain of Lake Michigan ....................................................... 32 3.2.2 Water quality of Lake Michigan ......................................................................................... 32 3.2.3 Geomorphology and sediment of Lake Michgan ................................................................ 35 3.2.4 Flora and fauna (including T/E/SC) of Lake Michigan ...................................................... 36 Draft EIS Version 1.2 iii 3.3 Fox River ................................................................................................................................ 38 3.3.1 Physical description of floodplain of the Fox River ........................................................... 38 3.3.2 Flow and flooding in the Fox River .................................................................................... 38 3.3.3 Water quality of the Fox River ..........................................................................................