Water level in Waukesha aquifer drops
WAUKESHA - Waukesha city officials are closely monitoring the water level of the city's shallow aquifer, which is dropping because of the extreme drought.
The city draws water from both a shallow aquifer and a deep aquifer.
"We have seen a decline and a reduction of about 20 percent of the volume of water that we get from the shallow aquifer," said Dan Duchniak, general manager at Waukesha Water Utility.
"It's something we have concern about because it's less radium compliant water and less water that we have available for us. It means we'll have to rely more heavily on the deep aquifer during this time period."
Duchniak said the deep aquifer is not as affected by the drought, but the radium levels in that water are too high.
"If we use the deep one more, we're utilizing more water that exceeds the radium standards. If we use the shallow one for water than there's not as much water available to us because of the draw down in the aquifer," Duchniak explained.
He does not believe Waukesha is in danger of running out of water, but he said the current water levels are concerning.
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