No. Very few other communities are likely to apply for diversions under the Great Lakes Compact.
The Compact bans diversions of Great Lakes water. The two exceptions are for “Straddling Communities” and “Communities in Straddling Counties.” The strict criteria require that the borders of the community itself — or the county in which it is situated — must straddle the Great Lakes surface water divide to even apply for water. This means, very few communities and other counties would even qualify to apply for a diversion.
It should be noted that withdrawing and returning water over long distances is extremely expensive, and typically requires geographic proximity to a large municipal water supply within the Great Lakes Basin. A community in a straddling county — like Waukesha — needs to demonstrate that it has no reasonable water supply alternative and get the approval of all eight Great Lakes governors. For the small number of communities that do meet these criteria, the successful Waukesha application sets a strong precedent for protecting public health and the environment.