Lake Zurich will conduct study to examine well sites for a potential reservoir for Lake Michigan supplier

Lake Zurich officials are completing their research on the potential switch to Lake Michigan water as their main water source with one final study.

A six-week study, performed by the consulting firm AB&H, A Donahue Group, will examine well sites for the possible construction of a 2 million gallon Lake Michigan water storage facility and a pumping station to transfer it to the village water distribution system.

Public Works Director Dave Heyden said the $20,000 study is the last step in the cost-benefit analysis to determine if the village should switch from the current groundwater system to Lake Michigan water.

“This is the last piece of the puzzle,” Heyden said. “If we want to bring in water, we need a facility to do so.”

The group will examine two options involving existing well sites closest to the Northwest Water Commission (NWC), the village’s preferred water agency, for construction of a reservoir.

Heyden said one, located near Buffalo Creek Park, off Old Mill Grove Road, would require construction of a facility underneath current soccer fields. The other, in Lake Zurich’s Industrial Park, would need an aboveground reservoir, where a cylindrical dome of 20 to 30 feet tall and 40 feet in radius would be built.

The consultants will determine the current sites’ necessary modifications and pumping needs and sizes, giving officials recommendations of which is the better option in terms of construction and cost.

Lake Zurich officials have negotiated with the NWC for the past six months, estimating that water supply from the NWC with the most favorable route will cost around $15 million. The further the water site is from the NWC nearest site connection, the more expensive it will be.

Mayor Suzanne Branding said she was happy with the information about the study presented by Heyden at the village board meeting on Monday.

“I’m interested to see what the numbers are — it’s a matter of getting all that information together and getting a good look at it, we’re moving along very nicely,” Branding said

The information from this study and a previous study analyzing Lake Zurich’s current water system infrastructure and possibilities for updating it, as well as final cost reports from the NWC, will be compiled by the end of July.

The next goal will be to get the information to the public in enough detail, time, and clarity to put it on the ballot for the November referendum, Heyden said.