History of Lake Michigan Water Project
The initiative to bring Lake Michigan water to the Village of Wauconda began in 2006, when a Village water survey confirmed that its long-term water quality and quantity could not be sustained by the existing well system. While the wells and treatment process provided clean and safe water to residents, the supply was not a sustainable long-term solution. This led Village officials to seek alternatives, ultimately identifying Lake Michigan water as the best option. In 2012, Wauconda voters approved a referendum by a 2-to-1 margin to fund the project, and the Village’s Lake Michigan Water Project began.

Lake Michigan Water Project Construction
The project included two primary components:

1. Internal improvements to distribute the single water source throughout the Village.

2. External improvements (outside Wauconda) to construct a transmission water main delivering Lake Michigan water from the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency (CLCJAWA) to Wauconda (completed by others).

Internal improvements were divided into three phases (four separate contracts) and included upgrades to the Village’s water mains, construction of an elevated storage tank, pressure-reducing stations, and a ground storage tank with a booster pump station.

Village of Wauconda Lake Michigan Water System Improvements
Key improvements included:

• New CLCJAWA water delivery structure at Gilmer Road

• Pressure zone boundary adjustment

• 1 MG ground storage reservoir at Gilmer Road

• 0.5 MG elevated tank at Bonner Road

• Four pressure-reducing valve stations to regulate system pressures between high and low zones

• 4.7 miles of 4–14” transmission mains built by the Village of Wauconda

• 9.3 miles of 14–24” transmission mains built by CLCJAWA from Grayslake to Wauconda and Volo

• Over $42 million in water system improvements