By Ray Barrington
News-Chronicle
Manitowoc Mayor Kevin Crawford told the Central Brown County Water Authority he saw no immediate obstacles to selling his city's water to the Green Bay suburbs.
The suburbs have turned to Manitowoc after a Green Bay offer to sell some suburbs water while forcing others to treat ground wells met with opposition. Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt said last week the city would find a way to serve more suburbs, but the authority has said the sale was not a "long-term" solution.
Ashwaubenon has shown interest in the Green Bay proposal, but Village President Norbert DeCleene said Wednesday he'd be willing to see what came out of talks with Manitowoc.
"We aren't scheduling any meetings (on the Green Bay offer)," he said. Crawford showed authority members photos of the Manitowoc utility's facilities. They include membrane filtration, a fairly new type of water filtering that the authority plans to use. Green Bay uses a sand filtration system to treat raw water.
In fact, it was an authority contact with Manitowoc about running tests using its filtration system that led to talks about a Manitowoc solution to the suburbs' need for radium-free water.
Crawford said he has proposed the idea to his City Council and water commission, which did not object to pursuing talks. "The aldermen are all excited about the potential," he said.
Water Authority president Roy Simonson said the two sides would meet again Friday in Madison, where water utility leaders from around the state are holding a meeting.
There are two major differences between the Green Bay and Manitowoc plans. The first is price. Green Bay is offering water at wholesale rates plus 25 percent, or about $1.80 next year, including the surcharge, for 1,000 gallons. Manitowoc's bulk rate is 88 cents and no surcharge has been discussed.
Crawford said Manitowoc would let the state Public Service Commission set rates, something Green Bay has tried to avoid in its suburban dealings.
The second difference is the type of water to be piped to the suburbs. Green Bay's pipeline would transport raw water from Lake Michigan to a Green Bay plant for treatment before sale to the suburbs. Manitowoc's lake water would be treated in Manitowoc and piped to Green Bay, likely along county roads. This avoids buying land for a separate pipeline.
The pipe to Manitowoc would be 29 miles; the Green Bay one would be about 26. It would connect with the suburbs somewhere in Ledgeview.
The finished water pipeline from Manitowoc would allow sales to communities between Manitowoc and the suburbs, including Denmark and Francis Creek.
Crawford said his community had been holding talks with Francis Creek.
In addition, facility costs with Manitowoc would be lower. Crawford noted Manitowoc recently opened its membrane filtration plant, and still has the building from its old sand filtration unit available for the suburbs' use. In addition, expansion of membrane filtration requires less construction than other methods.
Manitowoc also had duplicate power sources, from its own utility and outside grids, Crawford said. Water Authority members were given a report showing that Manitowoc's power costs may be lower than those in Green Bay. So what does Manitowoc get out of this?
"It really stabilizes our rates," Crawford said. The community has lost manufacturing in recent years and has excess capacity.
"Getting a consistent large wholesale user would really help," he said. Crawford added the city would not enter into a deal that would damage its ratepayers.
Manitowoc would require additional treatment areas and a new intake into the lake. Discussions about a possible deal would include the Water Authority's role in paying for the additions.
The discussions give the suburbs another option as a deadline to submit radium compliance plans to the state nears on Tuesday. Most will file plans saying they are looking at three options: purchase from Green Bay, purchase from Manitowoc or an authority-owned pipeline to the lake.
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