Bartlett planners recommend Lake Michigan water system
Bartlett's plan to start using Lake Michigan water in May 2019 made major strides this week with both a groundbreaking ceremony for the water main on Tuesday and a recommendation of approval for the pumping station and storage tanks on Thursday.
Plan commissioners gave their unanimous blessing to a Lake Michigan receiving station, two 1.5-million-gallon storage tanks and a metering facility to be built on the village's existing 24.5-acre public works complex at 1150 Bittersweet Drive.
The village board is expected to vote on final approval Tuesday, March 20.
The new equipment will be 240 feet from the nearest homes and screened by a 10-foot-tall berm that's planned to have native trees and shrubbery planted on top.
But two of those closest residents Thursday questioned officials about possible noise and lights. Homeowner David Howard remained convinced his and his neighbors' home values would be hurt, and asked for assurance that the landscaping would be secured before construction starts.
"It's going to be a big eyesore for us," he said.
Trustees gave notice in December 2016 that on May 1, 2019, the village would end its long arrangement of receiving 60 percent of its water from the Fox River via Elgin and the rest from local wells.
Instead, Bartlett would join the DuPage Water Commission, Chicago's largest customer of Lake Michigan water.
That option was the costliest of four the village considered, but was also believed the one capable of consistently delivering the best water quality.
Earlier in 2016, the village had decided to go entirely with Elgin water when its contract was next renewed. But a delay in Elgin's completion of the agreement, coupled with an algae bloom in the Fox River that caused temporary taste and odor problems, led Bartlett officials to take a different direction.
The originally estimated infrastructure cost of $43.3 million has remained largely as projected, Community Development Director Jim Plonczynski said.