Top Ten Concerns About Unimin Buying Tomah Water

Dear Mr. Mayor and distiguished members of the city council,

I'm writing you to request that you create a committee to study  Unimin's request that the city of Tomah sell water to Unimin. The committee should weigh the benefits of such an agreement against the possible costs. 

Here are a few questions.

1. Last summer Unimin stressed that they would not need a high capacity well, and said that they would need about 60 gallons per minute, which is less than 100,000 gallons a day. This means that six months out they are asking for ten times the amount of water that they said they would need in July. That's a huge difference.They said they would recycle the water and would need water only to replace that which evaporated. Now they want ten times that. Next summer, what will they want? Ten million gallons a day? The city of Tomah currently uses 1.3 million gallons per day. Six months after moving to the area, Unimin wants almost as much water as the city now consumes.

2. What does Unimin need this much water for? One representative of the DNR I talked to was quite surprised at this volume. It is very high. When they are done with the water, where will it go? Will there be contaminants in it? Keep in mind that Unimin does what it wants and then asks permission--just look at this story about the noncompliance letter  the DNR sent it for starting construction without the required air permit. 

3. A  big water booster pumping station just beyond Toro on the southeast side of the city had to be abandoned six or seven years ago because of benzene. Digging wells give contaminants like that new routes. There is always a risk of contamination when you dig a well--is digging a well to sell water to a business outside the city worth it?

4. What will this mean for city residents? Will this deplete the city's water? How long does Unimin want this much water?

5. You'll be drilling into a water supply that supplies not just the city of Tomah but surrounding communities. Will this deplete the water supply of eastern Monroe County--residential areas, farms, cranberry growers, lakes, fishing streams? What if there is a water shortage and water has to be rationed? Who has priority? The people? Or Unimin? 

6. Where will city residents get their drinking water if their water becomes contaminated?

7. What are the city ordinances governing sending city water to a commercial entity? 

9. Town and Country Engineering has reassured you that 365 million gallons of water a year will have no impact on the city's water supply. How far out have they looked? Have they looked at its impact on neighboring communities?  Apparently, they said that Tomah sits above a massive lake. According to the folks I talked to at the DNR, this is not the case. Tomah sits atop a sponge of consolidated sandstone and a lot of loose sand. Then, you hit granite and you hit it fast. This requires further study. Will Town and Country bid on the Unimin project? Do they do similar work for other entities? Are they looking five years down the road? Thirty? Under what circumstances could water run out?

10. Mayor Rusch, I very much appreciate the time you spent with me on the phone yesterday. You talked of the benefits of a $100 million mine to the tax base. But what is a good tax base worth if it costs you the water that you drink and the air that you breathe? Remember, the city of Tomah is downwind of this mine. Remember, silica dust, which is too fine to see and travels great distances, causes silicosis, which is ultimately fatal. 

Thanks very much for your time!

Kate Rice