The rationing of Lake Michigan water

AN ESTIMATED 1.3 million people in northeastern Illinois will be able to use Lake Michigan water because of a change in water distribution accounting methods made by the U.S. Supreme Court December 1. The change will also ward off depletion of acquifers, the underground pools of water tapped by wells.

Dr. Frank Kudrna, director of the Division of Water Resources in the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), said that although a well water shortage in the Chicago area does not yet exist, the potential for one may be only 10 to 15 years down the road.

"[It's] a pressing natural resource problem," he said. "A large number of people use ground water, which is dropping 10 to 15 feet a year. Resource depletion is not yet critical, but if overuse continues, it could be a serious problem in 10 to 15 years."

Kudrna pointed out that even though the Supreme Court's amendment to its 1967 decree does not allow the state to remove more water from the lake, the change in computation methods will make more water available, giving the state greater flexibility in water distribution. Thus, the state was able to grant water rights to 86 suburbs now dependent on well water, bringing the total number of Lake Michigan users to 198.

Illinois is unique among Lake Michigan users. Because Chicago decided to reverse the direction of the Chicago River in 1900, the river now flows away from the lake, and the U.S. Supreme Court determines the amount of water the state can take out of the lake. In 1967 the court restricted that amount to 3,200 cubic feet per second, or 2.1 billion gallons of water per day. The court also required that the state estimate the amount of storm water that would run down the Chicago River each year and reduce its allocation accordingly (Wisconson V. Illinois, 388 U.S. 426, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1290 87 S. Ct. 1774 (1967)). Based on a five-year period, the estimated runoff was held in reserve so that the state would not exceed its limit.

Under the amended decree, however, a 40-year cycle to estimate runoff is used. The longer time period allows for high and low cycles, producing a more accurate estimate of storm water runoff. The amount of variance allowed the state each year was also increased from 10 to 15 percent, and a reserve for runoff is no longer required.

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The 86 new Lake Michigan users that will benefit from these changes must now face another pressing problem. How will they get water from the lake to their communities? Many assumed they would simply get water from Chicago like other suburbs — but then the city approved a 51 percent increase in water rates effective in May. An IDOT study was released offering an alternative: if 51 suburbs and service areas got together to build a filtration plant and pipeline, it would cost about $345.9 million, which should be less than what Chicago charges. Forty-seven suburbs who had filed a lawsuit against the city in 1977 charging that its rates were excessive and included services not received also suggest a separate pipeline. The suit was recently amended to include the 51 percent rate hike.

However, former House Speaker William Redmond (D., Bensenville) said the state should develop an alternative to the pipeline. He is proposing that a regional governmental unit in Chicago be created to draw together local authorities and set a reasonable rate for use of existing facilities.

But even as the new Lake Michigan users were looking forward to a stable water supply, Chicago was fihng suit in Cook County Circuit Court protesting its allocation of 808.5 million gallons per day for the next 40 years. Chicago charges that the allocation made by IDOT December 15 is too low and doesn't take into account water usage by illegal aliens, commuters, conventioneers or tourists in the city. Chicago had asked for 844 million gallons per day.

Kudrna said IDOT's allocation to the city is based on the 1980 census, and he is "confident our allocation will be upheld by the courts. We have been meticulous in this process and enormously thorough."

According to Kudrna, a stipulation in the amended decree, which requires communities to reduce their unmetered water flow from the current 12 percent to 8 percent in the next five years, prompted Chicago's suit. He feels that Chicago was simply concerned with reducing its unmetered water by 6 percent in the next five years (currently it is around 14 percent) and so wished a larger allocation.

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