Now is chance for Lake Michigan water
After reading the article in the Daily Herald on July 31, as Mayor of Volo, I wanted to publicly state Volo's support for the effort to obtain Lake Michigan water and also Volo's support for the Northern Lake County Lake Michigan Water Planning Group. The board of trustees of the Village of Volo approved the latest amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding on July 13. The vote was unanimous in favor of the Memorandum and the board also instructed the village treasurer to make the first payment of $25,000 to Peter Kolb, acting agent for the planning group. This is an opportunity to relieve the growing strains on the limited groundwater resources in Lake County and northern Illinois. Despite the current housing market, growth is going to continue as young families will always need places to live. Lake Michigan water is soft water that only needs a small amount of treatment before the communities can use the water. As a result, all municipal wells will be capped. The concerns of residents about costs are valid but as the July 31 article pointed out, this is an opportunity for Lake Michigan water that may not be available again. Each community needs to make its residents aware of the improvements using Lake Michigan water as opposed to drilling more wells. Yes, this solution is going to cost a lot of money and the taxpayers and water users will have increased rates. As all the costs and benefits are explained, I believe that the majority of residents of each participating community will agree that the benefits outweigh the costs. The availability of clean, reliable water is a basic necessity for all of us today and for the generations to come. As one of the mayors who does understand the issues, I certain intend "to put some shoe leather into" educating the public as suggested by the County Board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has not yet determined if the communities will receive the allocations requested. As we wait for the IDNR decisions, there seems to be some negative feelings developing about Lake Michigan water. It is time we look at the positive part of receiving Lake Michigan water and as a group take advantage of this opportunity.
Burnell Russell
President
Village of Volo