McHenry County Blog

Below is a press release just received from A-LAW, the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water, which is seeking approval of a water authority in the undeveloped parts of western parts of McHenry and Kane Counties, plus most of Boone and DeKalb Counties.

McHenry County Blog wrote this article about the proposal October 22nd and cited the tax referendum as still another reason that the McHenry County Conservation District would not conduct a bond referendm on the same date.

You can find the DeKalb Chronicle’s take on the same story today here.

Alliance for Land, Agriculture, and Water “A-LAW”

Woodstock, IL – November 15, 2006 – The Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water, “A-LAW”, a not-for-profit corporation, announces that it has successfully completed its goal of collecting more than 500 hundred signatures as part of its initiative to create a new water authority to preserve and protect area groundwater. The proposed Kishwaukee Valley Water Authority “KVWA” includes much of rural McHenry, Boone and DeKalb Counties. (See attached map depicting the boundaries of the KVWA.)

A-LAW and its alliance have collected more than 1600 signatures from registered voters within the boundaries of the proposed authority. The signatures along with the formal petition to place the question of creating the authority with funding will be filed on November 17, 2006 at the DeKalb County Court House in Sycamore, Illinois.

A press conference on the Court House steps will be held at approximately 11:00 am. The attorney representing the petitioners is retired Judge John W. Countryman of DeKalb. John W. Countryman served over 8 years in the 16th Circuit. Countryman was named chair of the Illinois State Board of Elections in 1978, and he served in the House of Representatives from 1983 until 1990, when he was elected to the circuit court. He is a 1970 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Mr. Countryman said,” this is a worthwhile effort and I am happy to be able to represent the petitioners on this initiative.”
A hearing date will be set by the DeKalb Court to determine the final boundaries of the authority and to certify the question of creating an authority to be consider by the voters within the authority. It is expected that the issue will be placed before the voters within the authority during the April 2007 elections.

A-LAW will be hosting a public meeting to discuss the initiative to create the Kishwaukee Valley Water Authority on December 7, 2006 at 7:00 PM at the Belvidere Township Building at 8200 Fairground Road, Belvidere, IL.

Further information can be obtained by calling A-LAW at 1-866-649-9049 or e-mailing at A-LAW@onebox.com. We encourage anyone wanting additional information and especially those willing to assist this effort to attend the meeting. A fundraising effort will also be launched at the meeting.

A water authority is authorized by Illinois law and created by referendum voted on by citizens of the proposed authority area. A water authority has the power to regulate the permitting of any new wells for high capacity residential, municipal, industrial and commercial users.

The authority will monitor and conserve ground water and protect important ground water recharge areas within the authority.

Existing wells at current usage levels are not affected. Also, wells serving agricultural uses along with residential wells that serve less than four single-family homes are exempt from regulation.
Water authorities currently exist throughout the State of Illinois, most in central Illinois. The Illinois Water Authority Association located in Havana, Illinois represents many of the current authorities. Water authorities work directly with other state and local governmental units and enter into intergovernmental agreements in carrying out its duties. The KVWA, like other water authorities, excludes many larger municipalities from its jurisdiction.

A-LAW already has the support of the McHenry County Farm Bureau, the Boone County Farm Bureau and there is growing interest by farmers in DeKalb County, along with rural residents and local government officials. A-Law will continue to seek additional local organizations to join the effort in creating the KVWA. Farmers, business owners, rural residents and concerned citizens are invited to join A-LAW’s efforts to form the KVWA.

A-LAW’s President, Pat Kennedy, a resident near Harvard, Illinois, said that she was very encouraged by the number of signatures obtained in the last two weeks.

“The enthusiasm witnessed from the public was gratifying.

“It clearly showed that the residents of DeKalb, Boone and McHenry Counties understand the merits of creating the KVWA,” Kennedy continued.

Kennedy concluded by saying, “She expects the support for KVWA to continue to grow since residents are seeing the water authority as a necessary entity to protect their groundwater.”

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The proposed district is shown in the map on top. The colored map is of the Kishwaukee Valley watershed, not the tax proposed boundaries of the proposed new governmental entity.