Study to examine how Lake Michigan water will be routed to Oswego, Montgomery and Yorkville

A preliminary engineering study is underway to determine the precise route and details for a pipeline that will bring water from Lake Michigan to Oswego, Montgomery and Yorkville.

The study will identify potential obstacles for the pipeline, including wetlands and flood plains, as well as opportunities like existing public rights-of-way and easements, Yorkville city engineering consultant Brad Sanderson said.

Critically, the study will help determine how the potential route affects the cost of the project, Sanderson said. Each of the municipalities is looking at a price tag of well more than $100 million.

The study is expected to be completed by the end of the year, setting the stage for a more detailed phase of the engineering work to take place during 2024, Sanderson said.

Land acquisition and construction likely would occur through 2025 and 2026.

While officials had originally been looking at 2030 for lake water to be flowing into the three communities, Sanderson said it is now conceivable that the project could be completed by 2027 or 2028.

The water pipeline into Kendall County would start as a single line, but would include two major forks and three smaller spurs to bring the water to where it is needed.

Buried five or six feet underground to avoid the frost line, the pipeline will start from the closest connection in Naperville in southwest DuPage County.

The pipeline will make three connections in Oswego and two each in Montgomery and Yorkville.

After reaching south and then west from Naperville, the pipeline is to connect with Oswego in the Ogden Falls Boulevard area.

A north fork will extend to the Emerald Drive area in Montgomery, while a south fork is to run south and then west to Cole Avenue for a second Oswego connection.

From there, the line will continue west a short distance before making another fork.

One fork would reach into Yorkville’s Raintree subdivision on the south side of the city, near an existing water tower.

The other would reach north, crossing under the Fox River.

From this section of the pipeline, three spurs would extend. The first would run west into Yorkville’s Grande Reserve subdivision, where another water tower is located.

The second would jut into the Tuscany Trail area on the far northwest side of Oswego, while the most northerly spur would extend east to Galena Road in Montgomery.

The water pressure from the DuPage system will be sufficient to send the water flowing to the three communities without the installation of booster pump stations, Sanderson said.

However, the three communities will need to construct reservoirs capable of holding a two-day supply of water, under a city of Chicago requirement for accessing lake water.