Waukesha water

This photo taken Sept. 13, 2013, shows Hobo Spring, located in a park in Waukesha, Wis. It was among many springs in Waukesha, which once was famous for its mineral-rich waters, but the city is now seeking permission to draw from Lake Michigan to meet its needs. The aquifer that has provided most of Waukesha's drinking water for the last century has dropped so far that what's left has unhealthy levels of radium and salt. The city would like to draw from the Great Lakes.

(AP/John Flesher)

WISCONSIN -- Representatives of Great Lakes states and provinces have given a preliminary nod to a Milwaukee suburb's request to draw drinking water from Lake Michigan even though it falls outside the lake's watershed basin.

On Wednesday, May 18, the regional body representing the Great Lakes Compact Council agreed that the city of Waukesha's water diversion application could win approval if certain conditions in the interstate agreement are met.

The group includes eight states and two Canadian provinces. Representatives from Minnesota abstained from voting during a Wednesday conference call.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports the group recommended limiting Waukesha to an average of 8.2 million gallons per day, which is lower than the 10 million gallon per day limit the city wanted.

Waukesha says it needs Lake Michigan water because its groundwater is contaminated with radium. The city has been working on its water bid for several years. If approved, the city would be the first in the U.S. outside the Great Lakes drainage basin to get access to the lakes for drinking water.

In March, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said the city's request should be denied if the Waukesha Water Utility wanted to supply customer communities in its growth plan. One of the regional group approval conditions Wednesday was that those community should be excluded from water distribution plans.

In a May 11 draft statement, the body said that Waukesha's request would not result in adverse impacts to Lake Michigan water supply or quality.

Waukesha is located in a county straddling the drainage basin line and therefore qualifies for an application under a narrow exception in the 2008 compact. The city proposes to return all the water it uses in treated wastewater piped into the Root River, a Lake Michigan tributary.

Governors or designated representatives of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota will meet in Chicago in June 21 and 22 to consider the group's approval and formally vote on the application.

Per the terms of the 2008 Great Lakes Compact, any single representative could sink Waukesha's bid for water. The application requires unanimous approval. Canadian provinces have input, but not voting power on the request.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's representative on the body is Detroit attorney Grant Trigger, who could not immediately be reached for comment.

Snyder's press secretary Ari Adler said the governor is briefed on the application regularly and "there's discussion that goes on before any decision like this is made." Michigan is alright with the proposal going to the full review phase, but "we haven't made a decision yet on whether the water should be diverted or not."

Trigger will likely be in Chicago on Snyder's behalf in June.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, representing U.S. and Canadian mayors from basin-wide cities, has asked states to reject the plan. Numerous Great Lakes environmental and conservation groups oppose the plan. Waukesha officials have criticized a "misinformation" campaign about the precedent-setting water proposal.

Retiring U.S. Rep Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, issued a statement criticizing the preliminary approval, saying Great Lakes water diversions like the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which sends water to the Mississippi River, is a "mistake we need to learn from."

"Thanks to the Great Lakes Compact, there have been significant improvements to the management and conservation of the Lakes' water supply and approving this request to divert water now would be a precedent-setting setback that would threaten the precious, finite resources provided by our magnificent Lakes."

Garret Ellison covers government, environment & the Great Lakes for MLive Media Group. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram