Lake Michigan water drives Buffalo Grove annexations

Buffalo Grove has been rated one of the best places to live in America for a variety of reasons.

For a pair of new residents, one reason stood out: water.

The village board earlier this month approved the annexation of the property of Colleen Arns, at 23077 N. Prairie Road and 16471 W. Brockman Ave., and Sherry Ward Johnson, at 23137 N. Prairie Road.

Both actions came in response to requests motivated by their desire to connect to the village water system, which receives Lake Michigan water.

Arns and Johnson said they are so dissatisfied with the well water they had been receiving that they have been drinking bottled water.

“Our well water is so bad,” Arns said. “We have a lot of sulfur in our water.”

Johnson, who said her parents drilled the wells 70 years ago, seconded Arns' opinion, saying, “I believe mine is worse than Mrs. Arns', in that water softening systems wouldn't do any good.”

The well water, she said, smells like rotten eggs, clogs pipes and even affects electronics.

“The motherboard on my new computer went out in six months,” Johnson added. “My parents replaced a lot of TVs.”