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Wisconsin DNR Sets Hearing On Foxconn Water Diversion

A Public Hearing Has Been Set For March 7 In Sturtevant

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Fox River flows through downtown Waukesha
In this Sept. 12, 2013 photo, the Fox River flows through downtown Waukesha, Wis. Representatives of the eight states in the Great Lakes region approved a Wisconsin city’s request to tap Lake Michigan as its drinking water source. Waukesha says its groundwater is contaminated with radium. The city is only 17 miles from the lake. But because it lies just outside the Great Lakes watershed, it needed permission from all the region’s states to use Lake Michigan water. John Flesher/AP Photo

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a public hearing on Racine officials’ request to pull 7 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan for a Foxconn Technology Group plant.

The Taiwanese electronics company wants to build a massive flat-screen facility in Mount Pleasant in Racine County. The city of Racine has asked the DNR for permission to divert water from the lake to serve the facility.

Under the Great Lakes Compact, all water diverted from Lake Michigan must be returned minus what’s lost to evaporation or what’s used for Foxconn’s manufacturing process. The city’s application estimates about 2.7 million gallons per day will be consumed and wouldn’t return to the lake.

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DNR officials announced Wednesday they’ve set a public hearing on the request for March 7 in Sturtevant. The agency will take public comments on the request through March 21.

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