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Grand Prairie Water Commission presentation outlines $1.446B Lake Michigan supply program; Stantec amendment proposed
Summary
City staff presented the Grand Prairie Water Commission's multi‑jurisdiction Lake Michigan water program, including a $1.446 billion program budget, a proposed Stantec amendment of about $35 million, and a construction schedule targeting a 2030 water‑source switch.
Presenter introduced Stantec Amendment No. 5 and gave the commission's update on the alternative water source program to switch from the deep aquifer to treated Lake Michigan water. He said Illinois State Water Survey modeling showed the aquifer would not meet demands by 2030, which led to a multi‑phase regional evaluation and selection of purchasing treated water from the City of Chicago. "The modeling ... showed that we would not be able to meet our demands by 2030," the presenter said.
He described a regional program that covers four counties and 14 communities, serves more than 250,000 people through the Grand Prairie Water Commission, and includes pumping stations, storage facilities and roughly 60 miles of large‑diameter transmission main. The program budget is $1,446,000,000; the presenter said the team has rebaselined the budget four times and is currently on a "budget 4.0" baseline without increasing the overall total. Construction is underway and the program plans roughly 26 construction work packages over the next 3.5 years to meet the 2030 delivery goal.
The presenter said the proposed Stantec amendment would total about $35,000,000, split roughly $31,000,000 to the commission work and $4,000,000 for Joliet‑specific work. He described funding sources as a combination of federal low‑interest loans (including WIFIA) and revenue bonds; he noted about $10,000,000 in grants were in the funding plan and $8,350,000 has been received to date. He also said staff closed on approximately $87,000,000 in WIFIA and revenue bond financings in December, and emphasized public outreach tools including monthly social posts, a quarterly newsletter and an interactive construction map similar to Joliet's approach.
The presenter said the amendment will be presented to the Grand Prairie Water Commission Board on Aug. 18 and to the council for approval at a later date. No formal action on the amendment occurred during this meeting.
Ending: The presenter and staff made themselves available for council questions and noted the program would shift from engineering to construction and focus on land acquisition in the coming year.
