‘People should let their lawns go dormant’: Aquifers low as drought conditions in McHenry County continue

Drought conditions have caused water levels in McHenry County’s wells to reach some of the lowest levels they’ve seen in years – and it doesn’t look like the dry weather is letting up soon.

McHenry County water resources specialist Scott Kuykendall said the area is not going to run out of water in the near future, but he suggested the dry weather is a warning call.

“The biggest concern is actually that we’re going into the summer, the dry part of the year, in a drought,” Kuykendall said.

A lack of rain this spring concerned farmers, but it kept water levels down in usually flood-prone spots, such as Three Oaks Recreation Center.

As of Thursday, McHenry County remained under a severe drought, according to the National Weather Service, along with several other counties in northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.

Earlier this week, the National Weather Service in Chicago posted on Twitter that the best chance for rain will be Saturday, although coverage “will be scattered and unequal.”

“We should note chances for precipitation Sunday onward are slim to none,” the National Weather Service Chicago posted. “Against our wishes, the drought is unlikely to go away anytime soon.”

McHenry County has a network of 37 groundwater monitoring wells to track changes to water levels in its sand and gravel aquifers.

These wells are maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey, which also manages the data for the county. As of June 8, almost all the wells in the county were low.

Kuykendall said it’s rare for so many of the county’s wells to be this low at the same time.

“Municipalities should start raising awareness about watering restrictions,” Kuykendall said.

For instance, Crystal Lake is currently at a “yellow” level for water conservation, meaning it has certain restrictions on water usage, such as only watering lawns on certain days and times.

Crystal Lake Public Works Director Mike Magnuson said yellow has been the city’s standard designation for years, although with a lot of rain – and flooding in previous years – people haven’t been using as much water.

With this year’s drought, public works staff has been trying to educate residents on Crystal Lake’s water conservation plan by handing out flyers. A recent post on Crystal Lake’s Facebook page also alerted residents to the low water levels.

“People have been very helpful and agreeable,” Magnuson said. “Everyone understands we’re in a drought. All of McHenry County relies on protecting the aquifers through water conservation.”

“When we’re in a drought, people should let their lawns go dormant as opposed to trying to keep watering,” Kuykendall said. “When we get rain again, it’ll come back.”

Although Crystal Lake has not yet been greatly affected by the drought, Magnuson said the city is gearing up for another couple of weeks with little to no rain.

“We’re keeping an eye on things, being proactive where [we can],” Magnuson said.

One of the concerns in Crystal Lake is that the city uses deep aquifers with nonrenewable water.

”You’re pumping water out to water lawns that’s from an aquifer that’s not going to be recharged, and that may very well [lead to] issues in the future with being able to meet our water demands,” Kuykendall said. “That’s not water that should be used without conscious thought.”

McHenry County has three kinds of aquifers it taps into, one of which is a layer of sand and gravel. When it rains or snow melts, water infiltrates down to the sand and gravel layer of the aquifer and then fills the spaces between the sand or gravel particles to create a water table.

“Then we’re able to drill down below that water table and draw water for our use,” Kuykendall said.

Underneath this sand and gravel layer is limestone with cracks and fissures that water goes through. If this limestone layer has cracks and fissures that can hold water, it also can be used as an aquifer.

Deep bedrock aquifers made of sandstone also are used.

The main deep aquifer McHenry County uses is recharged in central Wisconsin. It can take thousands of years for water to hit the ground up in Wisconsin, infiltrate down to the soil and then make its way toward McHenry County, Kuykendall said.

“When we’re pulling that water out, that’s not going to be recharged in our lifetime,” Kuykendall said. ”From the perspective of watering your lawn, that’s using water that’s not going to be replaced in our lifetime to keep grass green.”