New Great Lakes Water Diversion Request

The Village of Somers wants to divert up to 1.2 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan under a new application submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Village officials are anticipating the Kenosha County community, located immediately south of the Foxconn campus, will more than quadruple in size in the next 50 years.

Much of the village, located immediately north of the City of Kenosha, is within the Great Lakes Basin and does not require special permission to draw water. But the new request would allow water service to be provided to the westernmost portion of the village, located along Interstate 94 and in the Mississippi River Basin.

Because the village is partially located within the Great Lakes Basin, the request is governed by state law and not the Great Lakes Compact. As a result, sign-off is only required from Wisconsin and not the governors of all states bordering the Great Lakes.

But Somers, which operates its own water utility but purchases water from Kenosha, must still design a plan that returns all water, less an allowance for consumptive use, to Lake Michigan after being treated.

The village covers approximately 12,400 acres, with the diversion area accounting for 2,300 acres.

Almost all of the diversion area, which runs from County Line Road to Burlington Road, is farmland today. The largest development in the area is the Oakdale Estates Mobile Home Park. But the area immediately north of Somers and the mobile home park is Foxconn’s corporate campus.

The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Somers at 8,359 in 2018. A report submitted to the state expects that to grow to 24,058 by 2030 and 49,816 by 2050. The entire village would draw an average of 7.6 million gallons per day at that point, up from 800,000 gallons currently.

The first diversion for a straddling community was granted to New Berlin. In 2009 the state approved a diversion request for up to 2.14 million gallons per day. As of 2019, the Waukesha County community reports purchasing 1.41 million gallons per day for use in the diversion area.

Foxconn, served by the City of Racine‘s water supply, is also subject to a straddling community diversion request. The request associated with the industrial campus was for up to 5.8 million gallons per day. Up to 2.5 million gallons per day (43%) could be consumed (not returned).

Somer’s request allows for only 10% to be consumed.

The City of Waukesha was the first city located entirely outside of the Great Lakes Basin to secure approval for a diversion under the Great Lakes Compact. A $286 million distribution and sewage return system is currently under construction.

The Somers’ request does not include the impact of a future annexation of the Town of Paris that the village anticipates making.

The DNR will next issue a public notice of the request, holding a public hearing and offering a 30-day comment period.