Romeoville Latest to Sign Water Agency Agreement

Romeoville became the fifth and final community to sign an intergovernmental agreement that moves the group one step closer to a planned takeover of an Illinois American Water pipeline.

The pact replaces an earlier version that included Plainfield, which has since decided against becoming a part of the Northern Will County Joint Action Water Agency, Mayor John Noak said.

Member agencies — Romeoville, Bolingbrook, Homer Glen, Lemont and Woodridge — are considering taking steps to acquire the pipeline through eminent domain, citing repeated rate hikes by Illinois American.

Last week, Bolingbrook Village Attorney Jim Boan said the company, which provides Lake Michigan water to suburban customers, has increased its rates by 100 percent over the last decade.

However, if it comes to pass, the takeover will have little effect on Romeoville residents, who get their water from the village.

“We just want to assure our folks at home that this will not affect their water in any way, shape or form,” Noak said.

That’s because the village has just 27 connections, all industrial customers, on the Illinois American pipeline.

Because its status as a member would give Romeoville a full vote on any decisions made by the agency, its creation could prove beneficial to the village in the future, Noak said last spring.

Last week, conducted on Illinois American’s behalf drew the ire of local officials, who called it misleading.

An Illinois American official said the survey was aimed solely at gathering information from clients — namely, what they know about the proposed takeover — but Noak said he believed the survey may have given Romeoville residents the impression that their water comes from the pipeline.

The intergovernmental agreement, OK’d Wednesday night by the Romeoville village board, doesn’t automatically create the water agency. Boan said the member groups would have to hold an organizational meeting to do that.