Carol Stream, township near deal on water for school

Wayne Township and Carol Stream officials are closing in on a proposed intergovernmental agreement that would give Benjamin Middle School and neighboring homeowners the chance to get Lake Michigan water.

A tentative deal was reached late Thursday afternoon when both sides sat down and ironed out disagreements related to Carol Stream's plan to extend its water main along North Avenue and up St. Charles and Fair Oaks roads.

If completed, the $2.8 million project would supply lake water to the unincorporated area near West Chicago where Benjamin is located. The school uses a private well but there are concerns about water quality and the lack of area fire hydrants.

"I am very hopeful that this is it," said Wayne Township Highway Commissioner Ken Spitz, who - until now - has refused to give the village permission to install the water main. "I think everybody got what they wanted. They get to build the water main. The water gets to go to the school. And we have the protections that we were looking for."

Of course, nothing is official until both sides sign the agreement. Carol Stream village board members could review the document as early as next week if a special meeting is scheduled.

Attempts to draft something both sides can agree upon have repeatedly ended in failure over the past year. Then on Thursday, state Sen. John Milner and state Rep. Randy Ramey, both Carol Stream Republicans, oversaw a meeting between Spitz and Carol Stream Village Manager Joe Breinig.

Breinig said there are still several minor issues that must be worked out.

But one of the biggest obstacles Spitz and Breinig were able to overcome addresses the township's desire to have oversight authority. As part of the proposed agreement, the township could hire an engineer to supervise the work and the engineer's fees would be paid by the village.

"If what we've agreed to is what gets written up, I will sign it," Spitz said.

Carol Stream initially planned the water main project in case any contaminated wells were found in the area. In 2006, homeowners along Judith Lane and Riviera Court were allowed to connect to the village's water system after vinyl chloride pollution was discovered in their private wells.

District 25 officials have said the water main is needed because the contamination found at Judith and Riviera, which is about a half-mile north of the school, is moving south.