The Water Link project: A case study for seeking alternative water supply and the importance of water conservation

​For communities grappling with water quantity and quality issues, seeking alternative sources of supply is often considered one of the last options. Some communities in the NWPA region are turning to Lake Michigan as a potential water source. However, accessing Lake Michigan water may not be feasible for everyone. Seeking and obtaining Lake Michigan water is a costly and timely endeavor that requires significant coordination and evaluation of options, which can result in uncertainty around its viability. If communities can obtain Lake Michigan water, they need to demonstrate their path to meet the Lake Michigan permit requirements, which include a goal of minimizing water loss to less than 10 percent and implementation of other required water conservation best practices. Nevertheless, accessing Lake Michigan is not an impossible endeavor, as demonstrated by the most recent agreement between the WaterLink communities – the Villages of Oswego and Montgomery and the United City of Yorkville – and the DuPage Water Commission.  

In 2021, the WaterLink partnership was formed between the Villages of Oswego and Montgomery, and United City of Yorkville. These communities united to address concerns about the depletion of their shared water source, the deep sandstone aquifer. Through individual and collective analyses of their water supply and demand, it was predicted that the municipalities would be at risk of well inoperability by as early as 2050. 

Through collaboration, the WaterLink communities (Oswego, Montgomery, and Yorkville) evaluated potential water source options, like the Fox River and Lake Michigan, by conducting cost analysis and exploring water withdrawal and transmission options. Withdrawal options included accessing water through already established water commissions, developing sub-regional systems, or building new infrastructure as an individual municipality. According to a consultant-led cost analysis for the Village of Oswego, the estimated total cost for transitioning all three communities to the Fox River water source was nearly $298 million ($261 million for regional improvements and $37 million for internal improvements) and $229 million to access water through the DuPage Water Commission (DWC) ($190 million for regional improvements and $39 million for internal improvements). Due to the sizeable cost savings, it was determined that accessing Lake Michigan water through the DWC would be the most cost-effective, secure, and sustainable option.
​  
To fund the project, each of the three municipalities aims to institute gradual rate increases across the project’s lifetime and secure additional funding when available. For example, the United City of Yorkville’s total estimated cost to connect to the DWC system and complete the required improvements within their Water Works System is $160 million ($32 million for phase one and $126 million for phase two). They recently applied for a U.S. EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFA) loan, which could potentially provide up to $130 million for the project, significantly reducing the cost burden for the municipality. They also will be seeking loan funds from the Illinois EPA State Revolving Fund to meet their funding needs. 
​
The agreement between DWC and the WaterLink communities was made official in October 2024 when DWC released a statement confirming the partnership and project cost of $250 million and outlining the next steps. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2028. As communities tackle construction, additional steps will need to be taken now and into the future to ensure they are complying with the DWC’s Lake Michigan allocation permit water conservation and water loss control goals. Communities can turn to the NWPA’s water conservation resources, including a soon-to-be-released NWPA Water Supply Sustainability Plan, to help chart that path. Nevertheless, this partnership can pave the way for similar collaboration between municipalities with shared interests and be an example of how partnerships strengthen individual communities and make large-scale projects possible.