Why Wisconsin city's bid to tap Great Lakes water is a big deal →

Waukesha, a thirsty 70,000-population city in Wisconsin, is angling for a 10-million gallon per-day drink of Lake Michigan.

On Thursday, Jan. 7, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced it would advance the Milwaukee suburb's application to tap Lake Michigan for drinking water onto the seven other states and two Canadian provinces with Great Lakes shoreline.

While that might seem unremarkable since 40 million people already get drinking water from a Great Lake, Waukesha would be the first city outside the Great Lakes Basin permitted to tap the lakes if its application is approved.