Montgomery hires engineering firm for Lake Michigan water planning

The village of Montgomery is moving ahead with planning to obtain its water from Lake Michigan by the end of this decade.

Village Board members voted unanimously July 25 to award a contract to Engineering Enterprises, Inc. (EEI) of Sugar Grove at a cost of $153,958 to prepare preliminary engineering plans necessary for the village to receive lake water through the DuPage Water Commission (DWC).

Under terms of the contract, EEI will develop cost estimates, provide a detailed analysis of the proposed improvements and examine funding options for the project that has been estimated to cost $100 million.

The consultants will also prepare a timeline and an implementation plan that will identify a schedule for planning, design and construction of the improvements necessary for the village to obtain and store the lake water.

Public Works Director Mark Wolf said the EEI plan will identify locations for pumping and water storage stations within the village.

Wolf noted that multiple other communities in the Joliet area are now developing plans to obtain lake water.

“So sourcing materials is going to be difficult as there are a limited number of manufacturers that supply materials for the pumping stations as well as some of the water storage components,” he said.

Wolf said a third party consultant will also work with EEI under terms of the contract to help identify potential funding sources for the improvements.

The Board voted unanimously last Dec. 13 to adopt a resolution identifying the DWC as the village’s preferred water supply option. Also in December, the Oswego Village Board and Yorkville City Council passed similar resolutions.

The votes capped years of study by staff and consultants in each of the three municipalities on a new water source to replace the water they currently pump from the deep sandstone aquifer that lies under most of the lower Fox Valley area.

The Illinois State Water Survey has determined that the water level in the aquifer is dropping and may not be able to meet local demand by 2050. That information prompted Montgomery officials along with their counterparts in Oswego and Yorkville to begin joint and separate studies of potential new water sources for their respective communities.

The resolution passed by the Montgomery Village Board Dec. 13 stated the village’s desire to work with Yorkville and Oswego officials to share costs related to connecting to the DWC through an intergovernmental agreement.

The resolution also stated the village will work with the other municipalities and the DWC to draft intergovernmental agreements to join the commission and connect to its water system.

Joining the DWC, however, will come at a significant cost to Montgomery, Oswego and Yorkville, and the water customers in the three municipalities.

The current average monthly water bill for Montgomery residents is $48.80. But that figure is expected to double to an estimated $97.21 by 2030 when the village will be receiving lake water from the DWC, according to an earlier EEI study.

The water rate hike will be needed in part to cover the village’s cost for infrastructure improvements needed to connect to the DWC.