Murder, incest and other sordid machinations spiced up the 1974 film
”Chinatown,” sketchily based on real events surrounding the supplying of water to Los Angeles County in the 1920s.
Nothing quite so racy is involved in the maneuverings to bring Lake Michigan water to Homer Township, but that doesn`t mean little is at stake.
In Illinois, water`s not quite the precious commodity it is in Southern California, especially in 36-square-mile Homer Township in northeast Will County. In fact, Homer lies on one of three major watersheds in northeast Illnois-southern Wisconsin. Water, water everywhere, but can you drink it?
Homer Township had 10,000 residents 10 years ago. The population of this unincorporated area has more than doubled, to 21,000 and is rapidly losing its character as a rustic expanse of farms and stables. Subdivisions are increasingly reshaping the landscape.
Plans are on the board to extend the Interstate 355 connector through Homer to Interstate Highway 80. The northwest suburbs and Du Page County have reached near-saturation and are approaching major gridlock. Can the commercial development of this northeast section of Will County be far behind? And can a patchwork of subdivisions and small farms governed by a township board of trustees and supervisor manage the massive job of controlling growth and planning that confronts Homer Township?
One of the major tests now facing those officials is the issue of water.
Homer currently is served by private wells and septic service furnished by two private utilities, and water quality is wildly divergent, according to numerous residents. Many buy bottled water for drinking purposes and have learned to put up with yellow water and the ”rotten egg” smell that accompanies periodic flushing of their pipes.
A study by the Chicago consulting firm of Alvord, Burdick and Howson found the underlying watershed to be unreliable for tapping because of possible contamination from substances including radium, though water higher in the table has proven reliable for the presently small customer base. Uniformly high quality water via a pipeline from Lake Michigan would be welcome in many homes, but the ambitious plan involves more than placating private residents.
Simply put, to bring in commercial development, the area must have a reliable source of quality water, i.e., Lake Michigan water. As other communities in the area-Lockport and New Lenox are two key ones-make provisions to receive lake water under the auspices of community-owned utilities, Homer is scrambling to be included in the equation.
Despite questions of how much commercial development there will be, the powers that be in Homer are moving on bringing the water in.
”It looked like it was going to be fairly simple,” said township Trustee Jim Davis.
The township must own a utility company to provide the infrastructure for water service before it can receive a water allocation from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Derby Meadows of Lockport and Metro Utilities of Aurora now connect Homer to well service.
The township first approached Derby Meadows with an offer last fall, but in December Citizen`s Utility, a national utility concern whose Illinois base is in Addison, stepped in with an agreement to purchase Derby Meadows.
Though Homer is attempting to block the sale of Derby to Citizen`s through the Illinois Commerce Commission, the sale is expected to be approved, leaving the township with options that include purchasing Metro Utilities instead of Derby, building its own plant and pipelines, a hugely expensive and unlikely scenario, or attempting to seize Derby through its right of eminent domain, another doubtful alternative.
Considering viable option Number 2, purchasing Metro, Homer confronts another nest of problems. For one thing, Metro`s customer base is much larger than Derby`s-more than 10,000 as opposed to 2,000-and would be more expensive. For another, the homeowners of Homer have an ongoing feud with Metro.
Metro proposed a huge rate increase-31 percent for water and nearly 100 percent for sewer-last December, prompting a revolt by residents who accused the company of providing inferior service. At a public hearing, allegations of severely low pressure that caused concern for fire safety, of inadequate notification of a boil order, of improper flushing of pipes, and of fecal pollution of a creek near a Metro sewage treatment plant were voiced. In March, Metro withdrew its request for the rate hike, refiling it shortly thereafter. The ICC is investigating both sides` cases and is expected to hand down a decision soon.
If the Citizen`s deal goes through, Citizen`s Illinois general manager Thomas Fricke said the company expects to be able to supply lake water to the area within three years.
What`s so bad about that? Homer Township attorney Ken Abraham puts it this way: ”The transfer (of Derby to Citizen`s) could jeopardize the ability to control the future growth. Whoever controls water and sewer has the greatest say in the future control of development.”
Also, said Davis, ”We`re arguing that it`s beneficial to taxpayers that the township own the utility rather than a private concern.”
Fricke laughed at the notion of Citizen`s wrestling control of future development: ”That`s the worst reason for getting into the utility business I can think of. We`re talking about a larger, more professional company that has the resources. We intend to get lake water out there.”
But just ask Bolingbrook, said Davis, about Citizen`s Utility.
Bolingbrook incorporated in 1965 and controls a large portion of its water system, with Citizen`s still maintaining some of the water and sewer lines. ”We`ve had problems with them with flooding and sewer backup for 20 years,” said village manager Bill Charnisky. ”The village has been before the ICC to oppose Citizen`s water increases for 15 to 20 years. It`s been a longstanding issue.”
Nonetheless, Citizen`s may well be the water supplier to Homer Township. Township officials have proceeded with discussions with the village of Lockport, which is under an EPA mandate to find an alternative water source due to the levels of radium in its supply. Because Lockport must act quickly, it may not be able to wait for Homer.
Lockport has until June 30 to notify the village of Orland Park whether it intends to pursue a hookup with Orland`s existing Lake Michigan tap-ons. Homer Township officials acknowledge combining with Lockport and Lemont to coordinate bringing in lake water makes their chances of overturning Citizens` purchase of Derby Meadows much more feasible. The village of Lemont, though, intends to put the issue on hold until 1993.
Nearby New Lenox has been negotiating for three years with the communities of Mokena and Frankfort to buy lake water from Hammond, Ind. Again, it appears Homer has been left out.
Alvord, Burdick and Howson`s 1991 study for Homer recommended that lake water be piped in from Oak Lawn. Said Alvord`s Mike Lin, who worked on the report: ”The best thing is for the communities to look at this together.
”Look at this picture for the future, or it`s too late.”
