Water tower instills community pride in unincorporated area

A few years ago, residents in unincorporated neighborhoods on the north side of Gages Lake weren’t happy to learn a water tower was being planned for the area.

That was evident at the first public feedback meeting where residents “expressed their opinions with rigorous clarity,” recalled Carissa Casbon, a Lake County board member representing the area east of Route 45 near Grayslake.

But through continuing community engagement, and even a tower naming contest — the only county-operated tower to carry a selected name — the rough edges were smoothed, she said.

“What started as a contentious utility project became a rallying point for community pride,” she said Thursday in joining neighbors and others to officially welcome the completed project.

Resident Diana Machado, who has organized two anniversary festivals to unite three compact, century-old subdivisions on the north of the lake, said she is pleased with the name and look of the new tower.

She said there is a sensitivity about living in an unincorporated area and the name provides an identity.

“We’re thrilled about it. We think it looks great,” she said. “Symbolically, we’re all community.”

The festival is paused this year as work in the area continues, but will return in 2027 as Gages Lake Fest, Machado said.

Casbon said community participation made the project better, and that other projects were identified during the process.

“What began as a challenge became a lesson in how trust is built between government and community,” Casbon said.

The $6.1 million tower is 150 feet high and holds 1.25 million gallons of water, more than eight times the capacity of the familiar “Wildwood” tower off John Mogg Road, just north of Route 120.

The Wildwood Water System is the second-largest water system operated by the Lake County public works department. It supplies nearly 1 million gallons of Lake Michigan water to 14,000 residents in Gages Lake, Wildwood, Third Lake, Mariners Cove, Arbor Vista and the College of Lake County in Grayslake.

Envisioned more than 30 years ago, the new tower is among other major improvements in the area, including installation of storm sewers and replacing aging water pipes.