Clean, safe water is worth the cost

This is in support of the proposed water main improvements for Meadow Knolls in Schaumburg.

After receiving the original information from the village of Schaumburg, someone stuffed an unsigned and unstamped letter in my mailbox urging all neighbors to oppose the project. I strongly support the project and I hope that all Meadow Knolls owners will consider that there are many disadvantages to having a well.

When your electricity goes off there is no water available. During the last storm we were without electricity for three days, and therefore had no water.

The quality of our well water is very poor: it tastes bad, is very hard, it contains a lot of iron, it has H2S smell (rotten eggs), and is corrosive to copper pipes, the well pump, the water holding tank, the water heater, and the water softener. Hard water is considered bad for your plumbing and people with heart or circulatory problems may want to consult their physician about drinking softened water, because the softening process removes calcium and magnesium and adds sodium to the water.

There are costs associated with having a well. Since living in our house, I have replaced the well pump twice, $1,200 each time; the water softener twice, $400 each time (my labor); the water holding tank, $300 (my labor); the water heater twice, $300 each time (my labor); and most of the copper piping (my labor). If you are unable to provide your own labor, add that to your cost. Don't forget the expense of adding salt to the water softener.

Include your outlay for bottled water, and the time and effort for cleaning corrosive residue in your bathroom and kitchen.

The author of the letter mentions that wells will become more desirable as Lake Michigan water is strained by demand. It is predicted that the water from the Great Lakes may become as valuable as oil is now. That is because other water sources are forecast to dry up or become unsafe for drinking. This may be our last chance to hook into Lake Michigan water.

True, there will be expenses associated with the water hook up, but the benefits outweigh the costs.

John Pileckis

Schaumburg