McHenry Co. board candidates thirsty for water solutions

McHenry County's impending water shortage is high on the list of concerns for candidates running for McHenry County Board.

Marc Munaretto, a Republican incumbent from District 1, noted that he has been a longtime supporter of the county's efforts to protect groundwater and recharge areas of the county, beginning a 2000 groundwater study.

District 1 includes eastern Algonquin and parts of Cary and Fox River Grove.

In the future, Munaretto said, the county must continue to work as a facilitator. "Most of the groundwater is consumed by municipalities who are outside of the direct control of the county on this issue. The county needs to develop cooperation among these other units of government to control the use, reuse and recycling of water especially in the eastern half of the county," he said.

With the current economic downturn, "a hiatus in development may help us to buy a little time, to help solve the problem," he said.

Republican challenger Bob Bless believes that any development plans the county must be revisited on a regular basis. "We're a new community and we're going to get a lot more growth," he said. "We need to look at alternatives and need to work on those alternatives right now for future dates."

Democratic Challenger James McTague called for a practical and timely development plan with proper regulation, to avoid contamination issues like the McHenry County Health Department's current investigation into a cluster of cancer cases in McCullom Lake.

In District 2, which includes western Algonquin and eastern Grafton Township, Republican incumbent James Heisler pointed to a projection that county water consumption could increase by as much as 64 percent over the next 40 years. "There must be a way to slow down the trend," he said.

Republican challenger J.S. "Scott" Breeden called for an easily enforceable ordinance.

Immediate action, including collaboration with local and regional authorities, Democratic challengers Anita Harmon and Jill Mawhinney believe, is necessary.

Additionally, Mawhinney suggested providing incentives to homeowners and businesses to install rain barrels for watering purposes.

In District 6, which covers the western portions of the county, including parts of Huntley, Democratic challenger Robert Ludwig disputed the fact that the county has taken a leadership role on the issue. "The 2030 Planning Commission has extensively weakened any protective language that would cause action to be taken to protect the water supply. And the zoning board and county board have yet to deny any rezoning requests that would limit development and thus protect the aquifer. This is not leadership," he said.

District 6 Republican incumbent Randall Donley disagreed with Ludwig, stating that the county has made "great progress" in terms of groundwater management, recently putting test wells in place and drawing up a map identifying water recharge areas.

Republican challenger Ersel Schuster and Democratic challenger Darryl Frank don't believe that county, state or federal municipalities should have sole control of area water, advocating instead for leaders to aggressively work together.

Ultimately, Schuster said, she said she would like to see a water authority in western McHenry and eastern Boone County.

"It has to be addressed now, otherwise the county would stop growing," she said.

Two candidates will be elected from each of the county board's six districts.