Lindenhurst may opt east for Lake Michigan water

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Updated: September 8, 2011 2:26AM

Lindenhurst officials may look at the option of joining the Central Lake County Joint Water Action Agency as a source for Lake Michigan water.

As a member of the North-West Lake County Lake Michigan Water Planning Group the village in January was awarded an allocation of lake water, as were the other seven municipalities in the group.

The planning group could eventually form its own JAWA, but now that the Lake Bluff-based CLC JAWA may expand its system, some of the planning group members are considering that option as well.

“The CLC option is not new, it is something we’ve been discussing with them since 2009,” said Village Administrator Matt Formica, explaining that it has gained momentum recently because CLC JAWA conducted its own evaluation and concluded they want to take on additional water customers.

CLC JAWA currently provides water to eight other communities, including Gurnee and Grayslake, both neighbors to Lindenhurst. “They are interested in adding new members, but they only have limited capacity,” said Formica.

Last month, the group identified seven million gallons daily they could provide to other communities. The next step is to evaluate what North-West planning group members might fit into that supply availability, with one option Lindenhurst and Lake Villa, with unincorporated Grandwood Park and Fox Lake Hills. A second option is Wauconda and Volo.

“We are committed to evaluating all of our options to determine what is most efficient and cost-effective for residents,” said Formica. “While we’ve been working with the North-West planning group we’ve also said our fiduciary duty includes identifying all options and identifying what makes most economical sense for our residents.”

Village officials on Sept. 12 will consider approving an intergovernmental agreement with CLC JAWA to participate in an engineering study to evaluate the feasibility and costs of running the infrastructure to potential customers. Cost of the study is $60,000 with Lindenhurst’s share to be approximately $13,000.

Lake Villa, located immediately to the west of Lindenhurst, is also looking at its most cost-effective options, said Mayor Frank Loffredo.

“Certainly it is something we owe to our constituents to explore this possibility,” he said. “We will consider joining the engineering study at our next village board meeting. It would be remiss on our part not to look at this seriously.”

“The study will tell us how much this option will cost. At this point we don’t know,” said Formica. “Obviously, it will be a shorter run of pipe because we are close to the existing system geographically.”

Formica said providing Lake Michigan water to Lindenhurst will be the single-most impact project he will probably work on in his professional life. “It will have a huge impact on our residents and their property values.”