Did Foxconn play a part?
In this video by producer Matt Stinson, greatlakesnow.org takes a closer look at the impact of the Great Lakes Compact’s decision to allow Waukesha, Wisconsin – which is outside the Great Lakes basin – to withdraw water from Lake Michigan for its municipal drinking water supply, and asks how the decision will affect nearby Racine’s Root River as well as the city’s own water supply.
The video also raises the question of whether future plans for the construction of a Foxconn plant near Racine may have played a part in Waukesha’s decision.
As Detroit’s Great Lakes Bureau’s Gary Wilson explained in a recent article, “Racine is in the Great Lakes basin but has been selected to supply water to support the needs of international tech manufacturing giant Foxconn’s proposed production facility. The plant will be located in a town that straddles the Great Lakes basin divide so it’s not automatically allowed to take Lake Michigan water.
Racine is requesting approximately seven million gallons of water per day.
Unlike Waukesha’s request, which needed approval from all eight Great Lakes states, the Racine-Foxconn diversion only needs Wisconsin’s approval.”
(Editor’s note: Be sure to watch greatlakesnow.org’s documentary on water withdrawal, “Tapping the Great Lakes” encore presentation on DPTV April 25th at 10:30pm and join the conversation #tappingtheGL)
