Waukesha tries to tap $100 million grant for water projects

The Waukesha utility faces a 2018 deadline to lower radium levels in its drinking water supply. The utility's wells are contaminated with radium, and on days of heavy water demand, the utility distributes water that exceeds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits.

The utility's cheapest option for a new supply is to spend $164 million to build a pipeline, pump stations and other infrastructure to buy Lake Michigan water and pump it to Waukesha.

Without state or federal grants, the project is estimated to increase the average Waukesha household's annual water payments from $268 to $568. If the utility gets $50 million from the Army Corps, the bills are estimated to rise to $492.

The potential rate increases emerged last week during a water plan hearing as the main point of concern for Waukesha residents.

"Given that the radium is a federal mandate," Waukesha Mayor Larry Nelson said after the hearing, "it makes sense that federal funds should help us meet the mandate."

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