Old Western Springs Water Mains Need Much Work: Consultants

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Nearly half of Western Springs' water mains need to be replaced or improved, work that is estimated to cost $55 million, village officials were told Monday.

Consultants from Crystal Lake-based Baxter & Woodman said 23 miles of water mains need work.

"About half of the water distribution system has been in service for more than 100 years," consultant Lauren Schuld said. "That's why there's a large amount of the water system that needs attention as the village moves forward."

For sewer lines, 18 miles need improvements, estimated to cost $46 million. That amounts to a quarter of the system.

As for roads, $67 million of work is needed, the consultants said. That works out to 14 miles, or just over a quarter of the network.

Consultant Carolyn Grieves said the projects don't need to be done in the next five years. She said a 30- to 40-year timeframe was reasonable.

"This is a very long-term project for the village to work with and establish what works best for you," Grieves said. "This is not intended to be something that you're going to do immediately in one fell swoop."

The firm has created a map showing where streets, water mains and sewers need work.

Local officials have acknowledged the village has missed opportunities to replace water and sewer lines at the same time it rebuilds streets.

The Baxter & Woodman study helps the village take care of all the needs at once, rather than tearing up streets more often than needed.

Officials said residents can input their addresses on the village website to find out the condition of infrastructure on their streets. After linking to the report, choose "Recommendations" and input an address after clicking the magnifying glass.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, no one mentioned the possibility of a tax increase to pay for the projects.

In 2008 and 2016, voters approved referendums to raise property taxes to pay for improvements. But the money from the 2016 measure has run out. As a result, no major road projects are planned this year.

Late last year, Village President Heidi Rudolph said the village may need to hike property taxes to pay for upgrades to roads and utilities such as water, sewer and stormwater.

Compared with other suburbs, Western Springs is overwhelmingly residential. Its commercial tax base is small, which means property tax increases have a pronounced effect on homeowners.

In 2022, a narrow majority of local voters rejected a referendum to raise the sales tax by 1 percentage point. It would have paid for infrastructure.