Aquifer Study Funding Approved Amid Discussion of Regional Water Concerns

The Finance Committee’s approval of $300,000 for aquifer research highlighted growing concerns about water sustainability across Will County, particularly in unincorporated areas relying on shallow aquifers.

The study will involve multiple stakeholders, including:

• Three Rivers Manufacturing Association
• Villages of Cimaron and Lemont
• Oxcuman Area Industrial Corporation
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• State Senator Patrick Joyce
• Stepan Chemical
• ExxonMobil

The Will County Environmental Network, which has advocated for the study since raising initial concerns that led to Joliet securing Lake Michigan water, explained that the Army Corps of Engineers could provide matching work value of up to $540,000 based on the combined county and Joliet Township funding.

The study’s scope generated discussion about municipal impacts, with committee members learning that while some municipalities like Joliet are transitioning to Lake Michigan water, others like Steger cannot due to infrastructure limitations that would make high-pressure Lake Michigan water problematic.

“We need to designate areas as open space where we cannot build because we need to do something special,” explained Board Member Judy Ogalla. “Without the study, we’ll never really know how to do it.”