Holding an estimated quadrillion gallons of water — that’s a one followed by 15 zeroes — Lake Michigan provides drinking water to millions of people across the region, including roughly 6.5 million Illinoisans.
That number will be going up ever so slightly with the opening of the Lake County Pekara Water System, which in the coming weeks will provide thousands of residents in several Buffalo Grove-area neighborhoods with Lake Michigan water.
For residents formerly relying on wells, the new system will mean better-tasting water and reduced mineral content. But the value of having Lake Michigan as a next-door neighbor goes much further than just a matter of taste, experts say.
Pekara Water System
The project cost about $2.7 million, with $1.1 million covered by ARPA funds, and includes a 20-year agreement between the county and the village of Buffalo Grove for water to be provided via the Northwest Water Commission.
According to a county release, the transition will improve taste and odor, reduce mineral content such as sodium and iron, reduce wear on plumbing and appliances, and eliminate the need for water softeners.
County Board member Marah Altenberg, whose district includes the communities transitioning to the new system, praised the project and its benefits for residents, who had pushed for the change.
“I’m so pleased that we were able to provide that,” she said. “They’re going to have some really clean, amazing water.”
It’s a resource that will become increasingly valuable in the future as concerns over water sources continue to rise across the country, Altenberg said. Her sentiment was echoed by Northwestern professor Sera Young, who researches water insecurity.
Young expects the reliance on Lake Michigan to only grow in the coming years as other sources, such as underground aquifers, are depleted. Water insecurity has several aspects, she said, including how available, affordable and safe it is to drink.
In Illinois, infamous for its lead water lines, the last one hits especially close to home. But affordability and accessibility are also concerns to consider, even in a Great Lakes state. It takes extensive infrastructure to clean and then transport water inland, she said.
In 2023, then-Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk signed a landmark 100-year, $1 billion deal with Chicago’s mayor at the time, Lori Lightfoot, to buy Lake Michigan water through Chicago. Joliet sits about 35 miles from Chicago.
“The wealth we have living on Lake Michigan is assumed to spread to the whole of the state, when in fact it doesn’t travel that far,” Young said.
Many people began facing water insecurity during COVID, she said, including issues paying water bills. It’s something of an invisible issue, she said, and people don’t really think about water until something has gone wrong. But she pointed to a line often wrongly attributed to Mark Twain.
“Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting,” Young said. “It’s going to be a thing, and we are so lucky to live by the Great Lakes.”
Protecting the lake
While it’s an “incredible resource,” the lake requires proper “stewards and caretakers,” Young said. She has concerns about PFAS contamination, man-made chemicals that have been detected in everything from beer to farming soil; and Line 5, a crude oil and natural gas pipeline on the north side of the lake that has drawn controversy over concerns of leaks.
“It’s a ticking time bomb,” she warned.
Altenberg also emphasized the need to be good caretakers of the lake, including protection against invasive species such as Asian carp.
“People who live in Chicago, we are so lucky that we benefit from living next to a lake that people take so much care for, and we’re trying to keep it healthy,” she said.
