Lockport and its residents would have to pay nearly double current rates to acquire Lake Michigan water, according to a study released Friday.
The city can either acquire Lake Michigan water or continue using its current well-water system and make improvements to address current and potential problems, the study said.
The City Council will discuss the study, prepared by Robinson Engineering of South Holland, at a special 7 p.m. meeting Monday in City Hall, 222 E. 9th St.
The cost to continue operating wells would be $1.2 million over three years. Lockport would have to spend $2.3 million over the same time to acquire Lake Michigan water, the study said.
Another option, tapping into the water system at the former Joliet Arsenal, is not addressed in the study.
Lockport officials requested the study about a year ago to determine long-term water options because of problems with the current system, which operates with two shallow wells and two deep wells.
But the radium levels produced in the deep wells are higher than allowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lockport has a waiver to operate the system while in violation of those standards, but the agency could issue stricter radium regulations this year.
To meet water needs over the next 20 years, Lockport must consider the radium problems and the potential for growth, which could further strain the system, the report said. The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission projects that the city’s population, at 12,772 in 1997, could surge to 42,532 by 2020.
If Lockport is to continue using wells, the radium problem must be addressed, the report noted. The options for resolving the problem are to treat water, blend deep well water with shallow well water to meet acceptable standards, or eliminate the deep wells.
By taking the deep wells out of service, the city would eliminate its radium problem and could operate with shallow wells into next year. In 2000, the city would need to drill three shallow wells.
Lockport officials have discussed acquiring Lake Michigan Water for more than a decade. In 1995, the city council voted down a proposal to buy Lake Michigan water from Citizens Utilities, a private company, after residents narrowly rejected the idea.
To operate a system with Lake Michigan water, the increase in water bills would be 210 percent, the study found. Lockport’s water rate is now $2.70 per 1,000 gallons.
To operate with Lake Michigan water, the rate would need to be raised to $5.61 per 1,000 gallons, the report said. For a family that now uses 9,000 gallons of water a month, their cost would increase $26.19 a month if Lake Michigan water is acquired, according to the report.
