Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope is satisfied that an agreement has been reached for the "rigorous review" of the water diversion application process.
The agreement follows a US-based decision on June 21, 2016 that allowed the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin to divert up to 8.2-million gallons of water per day from the Great Lakes Basin, because its water supply was contaminated with naturally-occurring radium.
After months of negotiations, Hope says the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative was able to reach a settlement arrangement with the governors of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council (Compact Council) that will allow both parties to work more closely on the review of the water diversion application process.
As a member of the Great Lakes and St.Lawrence Cities Initiative, Hope opposed the eight governors' initial decision to allow the water diversion but believes this new agreement will help ensure the long-term sustainability of the water source.
"What we've been able to do is raise [awareness] to the issue of the Waukesha diversion project, drawing water from the Great Lakes Basin, and the problems that it could create. We also identified problems with the compact council's review process" explains Hope.
He says the Cities Initiative will work in partnership with the Compact Council to determine boundaries and county lines, as well as guidelines of how the application process should work, who should be allowed to take water, and the amounts of water that should be allowed to be diverted.
Hope calls it a "significant" step forward.
"It will improve the guidelines, it will improve the consultation, and it will improve the public hearing process," he says.
According to Hope, Waukesha sets a precedent for water diversion in the Great Lakes Basin. Hope says this new agreement is an opportunity to correct flaws in the application process.
