Water panel picks its pipe By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle The Green Bay Water Commission voted Tuesday to recommend adding a 54-inch pipeline to its 42-inch pipe to Lake Michigan, settling a debate of several years over how big to make the additional connection. The commission's recommendation will go to the City Council on Tuesday. The commissioners decided the 54-inch pipe will be able to handle demand, even with the addition of Ashwaubenon to the Green Bay system, through 2030, when the current pipe will need to be replaced. The commission had looked at 48-, 54- and 66-inch pipes, although the 66-inch pipe was mostly considered necessary only if Green Bay had negotiated a deal to serve the six suburbs in the Central Brown County Water Authority, a prospect that looks remote as the CBCWA nears a deal with Ashwaubenon. The utility could meet current needs with an additional 48-inch pipe, but would be borderline by 2020, and construction timing would mean the utility would have to look at expansion in the next decade, commissioners were told. Commission president Tim Nixon said the city was still interested in storing water in underground aquifers, but the lack of state Department of Natural Resources support for the technology meant the city had to consider other options. "Some think it's OK to take a chance on the aquifer, but when it comes to the public safety, OK is not sufficient," he said. The system will have a capacity of 70 million gallons a day when completed. Even if the larger pipe breaks and part of the supply has to be run through the 42-inch pipe, the supply would still be 44 million gallons a day, as much as a combined 42-inch/48-inch twin pipeline. - The commission tabled a request from Ald. Chris Wery to look at an interconnection with the system being developed by the CBCWA for future use. "They haven't brought it up and neither have we," Nixon said. The commission did agree to start discussions with Luxemburg and Hobart about possible water sales. Preliminary technical studies have already been done.