Lake Zurich seeking Lake Mich. water

Lake Zurich is further studying the possibility of using Lake Michigan as a primary water source for its residents.

The village board recently approved paying roughly $25,000 to engineering firm Applied Technologies to perform a needs analysis for the village to obtain a water allocation from Lake Michigan.

Village Administrator Bob Vitas said the village is protecting its future interest in guarding against the aquifer drying up.

Lake Zurich residents are currently served by deep wells, but officials are concerned about future water supplies with growth.

The village is part of a water planning group that includes the northern Lake County communities of Antioch, Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Old Mill Creek and Wauconda.

The group hired Applied Technologies to do a feasibility study to determine whether extending Lake Michigan water would be possible. The results showed it would involve 45 miles of pipes and cost about $178 million, but could be done.

The next step is the consultant will investigate and prepare a cost analysis study and submit a proposal to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. All the water in the Great Lakes is allocated for use by the department.

Individual towns must complete independent allocation studies.

Lake County and eight communities have received Lake Michigan water through the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency since the 1980s.

"We can go with the northern Lake County group and become a part of that overall system," Vitas said. "We can go it alone and assemble a group of communities and basically get our own system up and running, or we can get with the one kind of in the middle of the process with Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency."