BREAKING: Oswego, Montgomery, Yorkville expected to tap Lake Michigan as new water source

After more than a year of independent and joint studies, the Villages of Oswego and Montgomery and the City of Yorkville are poised to tap Lake Michigan as their new water source.

The Yorkville City Council and the Oswego and Montgomery Village Boards will consider and are expected to vote on staff recommendations during meetings next week to contract with the DuPage Water Commission to provide them with lake water, according to a statement issued Monday by the three municipalities.

The Montgomery Village Board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13, while the Oswego Village Board and Yorkville City Council will both meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14.

If approved, the three municipalities under the name WaterLink will work to solidify formal agreements necessary to obtain the lake water through the DuPage Water Commission. Established in 1992, the commission provides lake water to communities throughout DuPage County.

Currently Oswego, Montgomery and Yorkville obtain their water from the same deep well sandstone aquifer which extends under most of northeast Kendall County. However, the Illinois State Water Survey has determined that the water level in the aquifer is dropping and it may not be able to meet local demand by 2050.

“No amount of conservation efforts will change the aquifer’s long-term outlook, especially when considering current demand and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning projection for the region’s population growth by 2050,” the statement reads.

For more than a year, the municipalities have been studying their options for a new water source. Those options have included the possibility of constructing and operating a regional water treatment plant that would draw water from the Fox River and obtaining Lake Michigan water from either the DuPage Water Commission, the newly forming Joliet Water Commission and a private firm.

Studies conducted by each of the municipalities have shown that their water customers should expect significantly higher water bills in the coming years due in part to the cost of installing the necessary infrastructure to obtain the lake water.

“This partnership between Oswego, Yorkville, and Montgomery allowed us the opportunity to pool collective resources and expertise to find the best long-term solution for our residents and businesses. The goal is a safe, reliable water source for generations to come,” Oswego Village President Troy Parlier said in the statement.

“We knew our proximity to each other meant what source each community chose would impact the others, so working together throughout the process was vital,” said John Purcell, Mayor of Yorkville. “The village and city administrators, public works directors, and village presidents and mayors from each of the communities were dedicated to supporting each other in making the best decision for their towns.”

“If the boards vote to make the decision official, the real work will begin so that as a group, WaterLink can begin formal negotiations and agreements for the terms of the water sourcing,” said Montgomery Village President Matt Brolley. “Staff will work internally to plan for the infrastructure build-out required and create a unified timeline that will work for each community as we move towards this transition.”

Residents can find community-specific information about the alternative water source decision-making process online:

• Montgomery | ALTERNATIVE Water Source | Montgomery, IL - Official Website (montgomeryil.org)
• Oswego | New Water Source | Village of Oswego, Illinois (oswegoil.org)
• Yorkville | New Water Source | Yorkville, IL - Official Website