Oswego Village Board members have taken another step as part of the process to switch to Lake Michigan water for the village’s future drinking water supply.
Oswego, Yorkville and Montgomery decided in mid-December 2021 to change from relying on well water to Lake Michigan water via a connection through the DuPage Water Commission.
The Oswego Village Board last month authorized the approval of four agreements to formally join the water commission.
Trustees most recently approved a resolution to authorize payment of a $100,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency loan application fee as part of the transition to Lake Michigan water.
“To pay costs associated with improvements necessary to connect to the DuPage Water Commission system, the village is applying for funding through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program,” Oswego Public Works Director Jennifer Hughes told trustees.
The federal Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act program provides long-term, low-cost, supplemental assistance for water projects, Hughes said.
“This will allow us to apply for a loan,” Hughes said.
As part of the necessary steps in submittal of the loan application, the U.S. EPA requires a non-refundable application fee to cover the “significant costs” to evaluate the application plus hire expert underwriters for the loan, Hughes said.
The village last year submitted a letter of interest concerning the loan. The EPA subsequently invited the village to apply for funding. The village hired a consultant to prepare both the letter of interest and loan application, village officials said.
“We have already been invited to apply and they have already vetted our project. The next step is to complete the application process to spend $100,000 to confirm our commitment to go through the process,” Hughes said.
“The goal is to bring back lots and lots of money,” she said.
The loan application is just one of the funding mechanisms for the Lake Michigan water project, Hughes said. Another is the State Revolving Fund program that the village will be applying for as well, she said.
The village plans to issue bonds to pay for the balance of the project not covered by federal and state assistance, she said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
