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WAUKESHA - Officials in the city of Waukesha are trying to find the best way to solve their water problem - but all roads seem to be leading to big bills for citizens.

"It'll be an expensive endeavor no matter which way we go," states Dan Duchniak with the Waukesha Water Utility.  "It'll be the largest capital project in the city of Waukesha's history."

The water in Waukesha has high levels of radium and the federal government has ordered the city to fix the issue.

One option is to build a pipeline to bring Lake Michigan water into the city and then funnel it back.
 
Under the plan, Waukesha would clean its waste water and pump it into Underwood Creek where the clean water would then travel into the Menominee River and back into the lake. 

There are other options for the city as well such as shallow wells and other drilling techniques, but those are actually more expensive according to city estimates.

"The traditional deep wells with radium and other harmful chemicals is just not sustainable in the long run," says Mayor Larry Nelson. "So it makes more sense for us to try to address the issues now."

No final decision on how to solve the city's water problem has been made, however it is bound to be talked about further as it's a political issue in next month's mayoral election.