Lake Michigan Water Considerations

Lake Zurich Water Supply Past to Present - September 2022 Update

• The Village’s public water supply began operation in 1912 pumping untreated water from shallow wells into its first local distribution system.
• In the early 1970’s, the Village began the move to deeper wells as it was determined that the shallow wells could not provide enough dependable water to accommodate a growing population.
• In the late 1980’s a consent order was filed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency against the Village of Lake Zurich to decommission the Village’s wastewater treatment plants. 
• An agreement to send wastewater to the Lake County SE treatment facility was executed on August 16, 1989. 
• Lake Zurich officially begins to discharge Wastewater to the Lake County treatment facility in March of 1994.
• In December 2000, the U.S. EPA determined an MCL (maximum contaminant level) of 5 pCi/L for radium in drinking water after consideration of a higher limit.  Radium is naturally occurring in our deep well aquifer at levels above 5 pCi/L. 
• In 2002, the Village entered into a Compliance Commitment Agreement (CCA) with the Illinois EPA to have our water supply meet the radium standard by December 2008.  Ion Exchange was selected for several reasons including initial cost, well site limitations and the ability to discharge concentrated radium backwash to the sanitary sewer system.  At that time, an allocation of Lake Michigan water was not available from the State and limits for radium concentration in wastewater had not been established.
• By 2009, the total cost for the Village to become compliant and meet the radium standard for drinking water was approximately $9.5 million. $4 million of this investment was funded by the State’s revolving loan fund, which will be repaid through the Village’s utility enterprise fund (i.e. water/sewer user fees) by 2029.
• In 2011, the Village was granted a conditional Lake Michigan water supply allocation. Studies and evaluations performed at that time determined the deep well aquifer might not be sustainable, or be able to meet anticipated water needs within the next 30 to 40 years. The study recommended that the Village consider switching to Lake Michigan as its primary source of water.
• From 2012 to 2015, The Village initiated preliminary studies to identify possible suppliers and partners, necessary infrastructure, and a citizen survey to gauge public opinion. Survey results were inconclusive with opposition slightly higher than support. 
• By 2016, the feasibility of obtaining a Lake Michigan water supply somewhat favored a partnership with the Northwest Water Commission. High project costs (and the loss of a partner), combined with a lack of short-term urgency or public interest, resulted in the concept being put on hold. 
• In December 2016, the Lake County informs the Village that the Lake County SE treatment facility was upgrading their process to include the production of a Class A bio-solids.  The County indicates that the wastewater treatment plant improvements will require a reduction in the volume of radium that it receives from its water production partners, including Lake Zurich. 
• From 2017 to 2019, the Mayor, Village Manager, and the Director of Public Works have met with representatives of the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency (CLCJAWA) to determine the viability of a potential partnership to provide an additional source option for Lake Water. Given the geographical proximity to Lake Zurich, CLC JAWWA may be the most practical option if water supply capacity is available. CLC JAWWA initiated two operational studies to determine the water capacity available for potential new members, and a redundancy study that will provide looping options for their current water source.     
• In 2019, Lake County revised their Pretreatment Ordinance and Sewer Use Ordinance, following the implementation of their treatment facility improvements for producing and selling biosolids.  
• In December 2019, Lake County issues a letter asking the Village to prepare a plan for removing the radium produced by its ion exchange process from the wastewater stream sent to Lake County.  The plan is to be developed by the end of 2021.  
• In October 2020, the Village contracted with Engineering Enterprises, Inc. for a comprehensive study to consider the long-term viability of the deep well system currently in place and identifying potential partners along with alternative Lake Michigan water supplies that were not considered in the 2012 study.
• In August 2021, the Village Board held a special meeting / facility tour of the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency (CLC JAWA) in Lake Bluff to learn more about their operations. 
• In January 2022, the Village held a community workshop meeting in-person at Village Hall to analyze the data that had been collected from the Engineering Enterprises study that would provide direction to Staff moving forward.  The direction from the Board at this workshop meeting was unanimous:  to explore in greater detail the feasibility of providing Lake Michigan water as the primary water source for the community.   
• In March 2022, the Village Board held a special meeting / facility tour of the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency (NSM JAWA) in Rosemont to learn more about their operations. 
• In May 2022, Village Manager Keller issued a formal Letter of Intent to CLCJAWA to request the opportunity to further explore the next steps in providing Lake Michigan water to Lake Zurich.  
• In September 2022, the Village Board approved an intergovernmental agreement with CLCJAWA for the sharing of engineering study costs to study the feasibility, manner of accomplishment, and estimated costs to physically transport the water from CLCJAWA to the Lake Zurich borders.
• In November 2022, the Village Board approved a water system distribution supply study with CDM Smith that will identify the improvements that will be needed to to connect Lake Zurich with a Lake Michigan water supply.  In partnership with CLCJAWA as a potential water supplier, CDM Smith is developing an Engineer’s Opinion of Probable Costs (EOPC) for the required, emphasizing operational efficiency and minimizing potential impacts on system pressure and fire flows. CDM Smith will present the findings of their study upon completion, anticipated for one of the Village Board’s April 2023 meetings.