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West Bend presents water supply service area plan ahead of DNR deadline
Summary
City staff and consultant reviewed a state-required water supply service area plan showing current well and storage capacity exceeds projected high-growth 2035 demand; the plan will be used for a more detailed master water system plan scheduled next year.
WEST BEND, Wis. — The City of West Bend on Sept. 22 held a public hearing on a state-required water supply service area plan that concludes the municipal groundwater system has enough firm well and storage capacity to meet projected high-growth demands through 2035. City staff invited consultant Steve Kleiser of Strand Associates to present the study and take questions from the Board of Public Works.
The plan was prepared in response to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources requirement that public water systems serving 10,000 or more people that operate their own wells prepare water supply service area plans. "The water supply service area plans are due at the end of this year," Kleiser said during his presentation, adding that a plan must be submitted to the DNR only if the community later requests an additional withdrawal from the Great Lakes Basin.
Kleiser summarized the study's principal findings: West Bend currently operates nine wells with a combined capacity of about 7,210 gallons per minute and a firm well capacity (capacity with the largest well out of service) of 5,610 gallons per minute; under a high-growth 2035 scenario the maximum day demand is projected to remain below firm capacity, providing a modest supply reserve. He also described a storage surplus that the report estimates can meet peak demands and a three-hour fire-protection goal of 3,500 gallons per minute. "So there is a reserve in well capacity of approximately 643 gallons per minute for the future demand condition of 2035 under a high growth scenario," Kleiser said.
Kleiser walked the board through other required elements of the plan: an inventory of existing water sources, population and demand projections, identification of alternative water sources (deep wells, shallow wells, or Lake Michigan withdrawals), a delineation of areas the system might serve in the future, and an assessment of environmental impacts if significant changes are pursued. On alternatives, Kleiser said the city's existing groundwater sources are "currently the best alternatives at this time and out into the future of at least 2035." He noted that Lake Michigan withdrawal is technically possible but would likely require higher treatment and would be challenging and costly to integrate with a distributed well system.
Travis, representing the West Bend Water Utility, said the utility plans a more detailed water system master plan next year and has budgeted for it. "This information is going to be very valuable and useful towards the more detailed plan that we that I think is scheduled for next year," Kleiser said, and Travis confirmed the utility has budgeted for the more detailed plan in the coming year. Kleiser also noted that the service-area plan does not replace a full system master plan that evaluates distribution mains, individual facility conditions and detailed operational needs.
Board members asked about maps and system security. Kleiser said detailed distribution maps and infrastructure locations will be included in the forthcoming master plan; when asked whether distribution maps are publicly available, Travis said some layers may exist in county GIS but access is limited because of security and resilience concerns.
Questions also addressed long-term resilience. Kleiser said the city completed a risk and resilience assessment and emergency response plan five years ago under an EPA requirement and must update it on a five‑year cycle; the utility will update those documents this coming year to reflect recent facility additions.
No formal vote on adoption of the plan was recorded at the hearing; the session served as the public-comment and presentation portion of the process and staff indicated the plan will be used to support the upcoming, more detailed master plan.
Why it matters: The plan documents that, under the consultant's high-growth projections, West Bend's existing groundwater sources and storage appear sufficient through 2035, information city staff said will help guide a full master plan and future investment decisions. The plan must be prepared to meet Wisconsin DNR requirements and would be submitted to the DNR only if the city seeks additional Great Lakes Basin withdrawals in the future.
