City's desire for groundwater survey could be a water haul

HARRISBURG – At Thursday's city council meeting, council members voted 3-2 to advertise for bids to conduct a groundwater survey that might determine a new potential city water source independent of its current provider, the Saline Valley Conservancy District.

The city, the first customer of SVCD and the water district's largest, has sparred with the conservancy district in recent months. Mayor John McPeek has criticized increases in the cost of water by the district, which has raised its rate both this year and last.

Conservancy district representatives have noted that the district has raised its rate a total of seven times during its nearly 40-year history.

Thursday's move seeks to ask engineering companies to submit bids detailing the potential cost of conducting a groundwater survey. McPeek said before the city inks another 40-year contract with SVCD, it should explore other water options.

"I just think it would be good to know if there's another water source out there," he said.

The answer to that question, though, won't be any different than an extensive groundwater survey conducted in 1981. That study, conducted by the Illinois State Water Survey, was in response to emergency drought situations, says city engineer Jim Brown.

"It was a dire situation, but it was almost comical the way it was approached," Brown said.

For instance, he said, at one point a group of Native Americans was invited to perform a rain dance. Then-SVCD manager George Scherrer and some area farmers contracted to have cloud-seeding done, hoping rains would result.

At that time, Harrisburg and Eldorado were very close to running out of water, Brown said.

"If I remember correctly, I think Eldorado was down to 7-10 days of water left," he said.

Conservancy district members met with then-U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, who was able to help the water company secure a $30,000 grant coupled with approval of a $30,000 loan to pay for a groundwater survey. The results showed a 100-foot thick slab of sand and gravel saturated with a ready and abundant supply of clean water: the Henry Aquifer.

The conservancy district drilled three wells in Gallatin County near the edge of Saline County. Those wells still provide water to its customers.

Brown, who also serves as the engineer for the conservancy district, said thought 36 years has passed since the survey was conducted there will be no change in results.

"That was the only water source capable of delivering what Harrisburg wanted at that time, and that has not changed," he said.

The science to suggest underground conditions would change regarding groundwater supplies simply does not exist, Brown said.

During Thursday's meeting, Councilman Richard Harper questioned whether Brown's position as both city engineer and engineer for the conservancy district is an issue.

"I think that could be a conflict of interest," Harper said.

Brown said he understands the concern, but that he also serves as an engineer for other municipalities in addition to Harrisburg and the conservancy district. He said he feels that he serves objectively in each capacity.

"I answer questions and make suggestions honestly," he said. "I can't do it any other way."

He also said he understands the city's position regarding exploring another option for water, but that maintaining its own water source may not be cost-effective.

"What has happened over the years is, the Environmental Protection Agency rules are some of the most stringent imaginable, and that's made it very difficult for a community to maintain its own source of water," he said.

Most communities in the region obtain water from a large water provider, he said, which is more financially efficient than maintaining its own source.

"If a town is going out on its own, they may find it very difficult to find financing," Brown said.

He also said he's concerned about the potential cost of a new ground water survey.

According to multiple online sources that track inflation and compare dollar amounts of past times to current values, such as savings.org and dollartimes.com, $60,000 today would be about $167,855 in today's dollars.

That might not necessarily mean a new water survey would cost that much, but any amount is unnecessary, Brown said.

"We already have the answer in this report. It's not going to change," he said. "That bothers me as an engineer and as a taxpayer."