No. Waukesha’s use of Lake Michigan water and return flow to Lake Michigan will result in no negative impact on Great Lakes levels.
The Great Lakes Compact requires that Waukesha return all borrowed water, less consumptive use (such as from residents watering their gardens), back to the Great Lakes Basin. This legal requirement sets a positive precedent for protecting Great Lakes water levels. Waukesha will actually exceed this requirement and will return the same amount it borrows from Lake Michigan.
Waukesha’s future average daily withdrawal will be less than 1/1,000,000th of 1% of the volume of the Great Lakes. To put this in perspective, the amount borrowed is the equivalent of dipping out one teaspoon from an Olympic-sized swimming pool — and then putting it back.