Yorkville getting Lake Michigan water moves one step closer

YORKVILLE – The city of Yorkville is getting closer to obtaining a water allocation permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for tapping into Lake Michigan.

Yorkville, along with Oswego and Montgomery, have joined the DuPage Water Commission and are planning to build a gigantic pipeline project to bring lake water to the three communities.

“We have to prove that we will be responsible stewards of Great Lakes water,” Yorkville City Administrator Bart Olson said.

After a series of hearings before the IDNR, the hearing officer has issued a favorable recommendation, Olson told the Yorkville City Council on Oct. 10.

“This is a significant milestone,” Olson said. “We are one step closer to allocation.”

Final approval from the IDNR’s director is expected by the end of the year, Olson said.

A big part of Yorkville’s effort to gain the permit has been an ongoing project to replace leaky water mains in older parts of the city.

To qualify for lake water, a municipality’s treated water loss rate must be metered at less than 10%.

Yorkville’s loss rate stood at 14% until the city began its water main replacement program earlier this year and has already reduced the loss to 12.7%.

The city must reduce the loss rate to less than 10% by 2026.

The village of Oswego, which was the first of the three municipalities to go through the IDNR hearing process, has already received its water allocation permit.

Montgomery officials could not immediately be reached for comment, but the village also began its hearings with IDNR ahead of Yorkville and is believed to be well on its way to receiving the permit.

The engineering project will involve construction of a new multi-legged water transmission pipeline connecting with the DuPage system at Naperville, along with additional water reservoirs and other facilities.