CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Allison Swisher, Joliet's Director of Utilities, said studies show the local wells that now supply the city's drinking water won't be able to meet peak demand by 2030. Nearby communities face the same deadline, she said.
That’s why they formed the Grand Prairie Water Commission, Swisher said. Joliet teamed up with five other suburbs: Romeoville, Crest Hill, Shorewood, Channahon and Minooka, to close the deal to buy Lake Michigan water from Chicago.
Swisher said they'll share in the nearly $1 billion cost to build their own facilities — including 65 miles of water mains and multiple pumping stations — to carry that water to their communities.
“We’ll begin construction next year in the fall of 2024 at facilities within Chicago, [and] that will allow us to convey that water from the Chicago water system out to our farthest point in Channahon,” Swisher said.
The deal, which was approved by the Chicago City Council earlier this week, will have the suburbs start paying for the water itself in 2030
Add in the cost of the water itself, and she said the average homeowner will see about a $50 increase in their annual water bills.
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