OSWEGO, Ill. (WLS) — In a significant move toward securing their future, communities in the western suburbs are toasting to a new, sustainable water source.
On Wednesday, local leaders marked the beginning of a pivotal infrastructure project that has been in the pipeline for over ten years. This undertaking is expected to have a long-lasting impact on the region.
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The urgency of this project stems from a looming crisis: the current water supply was projected to run out by 2050, leaving nearly 90,000 families without access to water. Although the new system will bring an increase in water rates, residents believe that the cost is justified for the access to clean water from Lake Michigan.
Named the Waterlink project, this initiative has been carefully planned over the last 11 years. The ambitious project involves a 30-mile transmission main extension, costing nearly $400 million. This will channel Lake Michigan water to the people, businesses, and schools in Montgomery, Oswego, and Yorkville.
The change is crucial as officials have warned that the aquifer currently supplying water to these areas is expected to dry up within a few decades.
“This is the single most important investment or decision that any of us will ever make in elected office,” emphasized Matt Brolley, the Village President of Montgomery, highlighting the project’s significance.
Community leaders say that new system will likely double the current water rates residents pay. But for those thinking about the next generation, clean water is priceless.
“We’re going to live here for 20, 30 years, and our kids are going to grow up here. And you know, when we talk about potentially running out of clean water, no one wants to hear that,” Oswego resident Kelly Bertog said.
Officials broke ground on the project, which includes multiple delivery points and requires complex infrastructure work spanning residential neighborhoods and roadways.
Bertog, a father of two, says he’s proud to know his community is getting ahead of the problem.
“They’re going to be taken care of because of all the people here that have been thinking about the clean water and making sure that my kids, and you know, ideally eventually grandkids will have access to clean drinking water,” Bertog said.
“Where I live, I do have Lake Michigan water; it’s definitely worth the rates that you pay for it,” said Jon Rogan, who works in Oswego.
The new Waterlink system is expected to be up and running by 2028
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