Push for Lake Michigan water in Lake County nears

Details of a plan to extend Lake Michigan water to eight communities will hit the road next week.

Village boards in Fox Lake and Wauconda will be updated Tuesday on the $253 million proposal that is approaching the decision stage.

Those communities, along with Antioch, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Long Grove, Lake Zurich, Volo and the county itself, have been studying the possibility of replacing well water with a Lake Michigan supply. Hawthorn Woods and Old Mill Creek also are said to be interested in joining the consortium.

The impetus is that water levels in aquifers are dropping, with shortages possible in the future. The quality also is deteriorating and requires more treatment for substances such as iron, sulfur and radium, plan supporters say.

Studies have shown it would be possible to replace well water by installing 57 miles of pipe west and south from the lake intake operated by the Lake County Public Water District in Zion.

The $250 million system would take five years to build and be financed with bonds issued by the communities and repaid through property taxes as well as customer service fees. Individual users would pay about $40 more per month than they currently pay for water service.

The purpose of the meetings is to bring elected officials up to speed on the issue, according to Bonnie Thomson Carter, a county board member from Ingleside. She has had a lengthy involvement in water issues and also chairs the Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Supply Planning Group.

That is separate from the Lake County initiative and evolved from an executive order in January 2006 by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich calling for a statewide study of water supply issues.

Carter and others say the timing is right in Lake County because Lake Michigan water would be a reliable and safe supply. A video will be shown to explain the situation and is available at lakecountyil.gov/lakemichiganwater/.

"It will cost more if we wait," Antioch Village Administrator Jim Keim says on the video. "If we don't seize the opportunity it might not be available to us in the future."

The amount of water Illinois can take from Lake Michigan is fixed at 2.1 billion gallons per day by a U.S. Supreme Court decree.

The key will be whether entities here can secure an allocation. All will be making their pitches to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which manages the state's water allocation program, on Jan. 13 and 14.

One of the criteria to receive an allocation is that a switch to Lake Michigan water is cost-effective.

"That allocation is today. It won't be in five years," Carter said. "If we delay, we've lost our window of opportunity."