Council approves relocation order resolution to allow Arrowhead Trail water main connection

The Waukesha City Common Council on Tuesday approved a resolution determining necessity and adopting a relocation order to secure a small easement for an Arrowhead Trail water-main connection.

City staff (addressed as Brian) told the council the project requires a roughly 30-by-40-foot easement across a vacant parcel to connect two dead-end water-main stubs. "This is one of the preliminary steps in the process of taking land by eminent domain," Brian said, describing the relocation-order process and an ongoing appraisal that will inform a jurisdictional offer to the property owner. He said the connection is intended to reduce stagnation, improve water quality and provide redundancy for fire protection.

A council member asked whether the connection would force nearby residents onto city water and whether a timeline exists. Brian replied that the current phase travels through vacant land and he did not expect this phase to add new customers. He said an appraiser is preparing a valuation as part of the next procedural steps.

A motion to approve the resolution was made and seconded; the council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.

The resolution authorizes the relocation-order step for the Arrowhead Trail water utility easement and begins the sequence of administrative steps (appraisal, jurisdictional offer) that may precede any acquisition; it does not itself describe immediate service changes for nearby residences. The council did not discuss a construction timetable at this meeting.