Should Well Water be Allowed in New Lenox?

New Lenox is exploring whether non-residents who use well water should be able to keep their wells when annexed into the village.

This issue came up during a December board meeting at which a group care home petitioning for annexation . After the property's builder said the well wasn't a big issue, the board decided to take up the issue at a later date.

The sewer and water committee, which includes trustees Nancy Dye and Dave Smith, discussed well water Monday night and will continue to explore options. Smith opposes well water in the village, but trustee Ray Tuminello said in a separate interview that it should be allowed, given certain stipulations.

As the village grows, more township residents could hypothetically petition for annexation. Whether they'll get to keep their well water is an entirely different discussion.

What Village Code Says

Currently, residents of New Lenox are tapped into the village's system, which gets water from Lake Michigan. Residents living in the unincorporated areas most likely have their own well water. If they were annexed into the village, however, they would need to tap into the system and pay the village for this service.

Engineer Will Nash looked through village code and found two ordinances related to the matter. In 1971, an ordinance was passed saying that residents who had a well were allowed to keep it. In 2004, an ordinance was approved to allow for wells to be drilled in the village only for purposes for watering a public athletic field or replenishing a pond, which came about when the Bluestone Bay subdivision was built.

But there's a gap in time there, and trustee Smith said he believes the 1971 ordinance was done away with when the village switched to Lake Michigan water. Nash said he would keep checking village ordinances and ask the village attorney to interpret the code as written.

“None of the intent, ever, has been to let people have their own well," Smith said.

Dollars and Sense

If people were allowed to have wells, the village would lose some new potential revenue through taxes. But Tuminello said these people would be using well water strictly for things such as watering their lawn and washing their car. For other uses, such as drinking water and showers, these new residents would be tapped into the village system and thus providing new revenue, in addition to property taxes.

With , that extra cost could worry some people looking to come into the village. They don't need to petition to be annexed, of course, but what if they want to?

"I think people who have existing wells within the village boundaries should be able to continue using them," reader Robert Nork said. "It would be a huge and unplanned expense for them to tap into village water."

But Smith is more skeptical, thinking people with wells might use that water for more than just outdoor purposes, thus keeping more revenue from the village. That revenue goes toward maintaining the water system, and the more water sold results in a lower cost per gallon to the consumer.

"We sell water," Smith said. "I think it would be a bad business decision (to allow wells)."

Editor's note: The section above was clarified following the meeting. See Trustee Smith's comment below for more details.

Contamination Concern

A far bigger concern related to this issue is whether someone tapped into the village system and a well could contaminate the village's water.

Tuminello said he would support an ordinance allowing residents to keep their wells as long as they were only for irrigation purposes and the village conducted an inspection process.

"If it's their well on their land, I don't see why they couldn't use their own water," Tuminello said.

Smith worries about contamination regardless of what the village stipulates or inspects.

"Once you start tapping wells, you’re going to have someone hook them up to their home," he said. "And if someone contaminates the system, they’re going to sue the village of New Lenox."

Smith believes some people would be inclined to hook well water up to their homes and switch the connection when the village comes to inspect it. He also said it could set "a very dangerous precedent" to allow wells and lead people currently in the village boundaries to drill.

Tuminello disagreed with that assertion, saying that very few people would have the lot size required for a well and likely wouldn't invest thousands of dollars to get a well and save a fraction of that monthly.

The Village Board will continue to discuss the issue at future meetings. The board meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at .