TOWN OF CEDARBURG, Wis. — Town of Cedarburg residents are expressing concern about a proposal to create a 13-acre private pond that would divert water from Cedar Creek.
The Town of Cedarburg is currently weighing the proposal for the private pond, which would be located adjacent to Covered Bridge Park.
Watch: Why Cedarburg residents are concerned about a private pond proposal:
Residents Kevin and Suzanne Cahill live along the creek, about a half mile from the proposed pond. They worry the project could affect their well.
"If that aquifer level is affected by improper use by a single individual, my entire property is at risk," Kevin said.
The exact amount of water that would be diverted from the creek and well to fill the pond varies depending on who you asked. Town Supervisor Larry Lechner told TMJ4 a figure of approximately 25 million gallons was discussed at a recent meeting.
At that meeting, the Town Board sent the proposal back to the Planning Commission for more clarity. A meeting to further discuss the proposal is yet to be officially scheduled.
Using his background in marketing, Kevin has started a formal opposition to the project through a website and related Facebook page. In just a few days, the site's petition has garnered more than 250 signatures.
"Very quickly, we've had over 90,000 views on that," Kevin said. "Every member of this community, whether they're Democrat or Republican, cares about our public resources... If you live on any waterway in Southeastern Wisconsin, you are affected by this issue."
"We don't know the whole picture on how this will actually impact our land and our community," Suzanne said.
The family proposing the pond, the Gauthiers of Grafton's Gauthier Biomedical, say they have been working on the project for four years to comply with all required laws and statutes.
The pond is located on our private property and is for our personal use. We are fully complying with all applicable statutes, codes, ordinances, and requirements. We are not requesting a variance or any special consideration. This pond project was originally proposed to the Town of Cedarburg in 2021, and we have been working closely with town staff, the town engineer, Ozaukee County, the Wisconsin DNR, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the past four and a half years to develop and refine the plan.
The covered bridge and Cedar Creek as a whole are considered cherished landmarks in the community, and TMJ4 has previously covered stories relating to the creek's heath and other proposed changes.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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