Bockman 'frightened' by water proposal

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By Diane Strand &#8220This is the start of a water war, isn't it,” said DeKalb County Board member Julia Fauci She expressed the fear after a long litany of possible disasters were outlined by County Board Administrator Ray Bockman at the Executive Committee meeting last week. He was discussing the Water Authority proposed for all of DeKalb County (except Sycamore and DeKalb), as well as Boone County (except Belvidere) and rural portions of McHenry County. It would be yet another layer of government, Bockman noted, this one designed for protection of ground water and water quality. He said, &#8220I think the idea is good-but I'm not sure this would represent a solution that's in our best interest. In fact, I'm quite frightened by it.” The negatives? &#8220It's a contiguous land area-but only 20 percent of registered voters in the area can vote on it. People in the municipalities won't be taxed-but any new growth and development in any areas now excluded (will be affected). &#8220t starts out with only three trustees-but they can be converted to an elected group,” Bockman said. &#8220It's a government unit with considerable authority. It can tax and can raise property taxes to retire bonds. They can condemn land and create reservoirs. They can arrest you. They can regulate the use of water, though agriculture is exempt.as are Sycamore and DeKalb-and any well serving four or less families is excluded. &#8220If they create a reservoir, they can rezone the land around it and lease the land,” Bockman continued. A hearing on the water authority is scheduled Dec. 21, 1:30 p.m. in the DeKalb County Courthouse's Courtroom 300. The judge will decide whether to place the question before voters in the three counties in spring 2007. &#8220But only a resident of the authority will have standing to comment at the hearing,” Bockman said. The water authority is not unique. &#8220There are 17 others in the state, in central Illinois-they have had a water shortage down there,” Bockman said. &#8220But why wouldn't you want the largest users (in DeKalb County, they are Sycamore and DeKalb) to participate?” He compared the authority's power to the experience of board member Mike Haines who lives in a rural area. A development of 60 homes nearby put down wells and promptly used all the water Haines got from his family's well. &#8220It looks like an anti-growth effort, but the Farm Bureaus have endorsed it. The three county commissioners serve with limited compensation-but they may employ attorneys, engineers and ‘such other employees as they deem expedient.' The commissioners' powers include but are not limited to well inspections, registration and permits. And they can ‘reasonably regulate' the use of water during any period of actual or threatened shortage,” Bockman said. Board member Roger Steimel said he was concerned about the speed at which the authority proposal was moving and he added, &#8220If you remember, this was (deceased board member) Cliff Simonson's issue. He said, ‘We're going to run out of water.' People are projecting a county population of 160,000 (within a few decades).” (It is currently about 90,000.) A water shortage was also described as &#8220the major issue of the 21st Century” by deceased Senator Paul Simon, who warned about it in his book, &#8220All Tapped Out.” Bockman questioned why so many people can't have input on the water authority issue and added, &#8220We have a good relationship with our cities.” He said he alerted Sycamore City Manager Bill Nicklas and DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki to the issue. Bockman said, &#8220Any plan dependent upon the Illinois General Assembly is fatally flawed. The first time somebody's toes get stepped on....” He noted that there are 52,000 eligible voters in DeKalb County and half won't be able to vote on the water authority. Bockman said the county's Planning and Zoning Committee as well as its Regional Planning Commission are studying the issue but he warned, &#8220The hearing is in nine days.” Fauci said the county should have been doing its own homework on ground water preservation before the issue was coopted by another group. Greg Millburg, director of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, commented on the three county Farm Bureaus' support of the authority, saying, &#8220It represents a method, through state statute, of preserving a natural resource-water.” However, actual agricultural use is exempt from the power of the water authority. Colin Booth, NIU professor of geology and environmental geoscience, declined to comment on the three-county proposal, but said Kane County has conducted some major research programs on its water resources. Following the recent County Board election and board reorganization, Ruth Anne Tobias continues as chair of the board, with Pat Vary vice chairman. Committee chairs are as follows: Finance Committee, Michael Haines; Planning and Zoning, Roger Steimel; Health and Human Services, Bob Rosemeier; Law and Justice, Rich Osborne ; Forest Preserves, Julia Fauci; Economic Development, Eileen Dubin; and Highway, Pat LaVigne.

Statewide water supply study in progress While the proposal for DeKalb, Boone and McHenry counties' water authority is still being debated, Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued an executive order to develop a comprehensive, statewide water supply planning and management strategy. His order followed the summer of 2005's long and costly draught and the study is being directed the State Water Survey. Blagojevich said at the time, "It is critical for Illinois to get ahead of the curve when it comes to water supply planning. Last summer's drought demonstrated to us that careful management of our water must be a priority so we always have enough supply for people to drink and use, for our industries like agriculture, and for our fish and wildlife habitats." He noted Lake Michigan as &#8220one of the largest freshwater sources in the world,” but also said parts of the state &#8220face legal and physical restraints to increasing water supplies.” Priority Water Quantity Planning Areas were identified as the Mahomet aquifer and the Northeastern Illinois Deep Aquifer. The Mahomet aquifer serves the communities of Decatur and Champaign-Urbana. &#8220Due to the growth in the area along with major livestock facilities, agricultural irrigation, and power plants, east central Illinois is likely to experience strain on their water supplies,” he said. &#8220The growth of the western suburbs beyond the reach of Lake Michigan water also makes northeastern Illinois a priority, where shallow aquifers and surface water sources are already strained.”