McHenry County Blog

Immediately after the unsuccessful campaign by the Alliance for Land, Agriculture and Water (A-LAW) to create a Kishwaukee Valley Water Authority, the McHenry County Board hired Johnsburg resident Cassandra McKinney as Water Resource Manager.

To be successful, McKinney will have to be persuasive with the very people who financed and campaigned to defeat the water authority's creation.

It is unknown to what extent the newly hired McHenry County employee will be successful .

After all she must encouraging municipalities and developers to protect the groundwater needed by the families to which they seek to sell homes.

But, if Congressman Don Manzullo is able to convince U.S. Senate Democrats to retain his earmark, $300,000 more will be available for the effort.

The $300,000 of federal largess follows by two days Manzullo’s announcement of $250,000 in assistance for extending Algonquin Road through Huntley.

The press release follows:

Manzullo Secures $300,000 to Help McHenry County
Preserve Groundwater Supplies, Prevent Flooding

(CRYSTAL LAKE) Congressman Don Manzullo (R-IL) today announced he has secured $300,000 in federal funds to help McHenry County officials ensure abundant and safe drinking water for residents and prevent damaging floods for generations to come.
The funding is included in the 2008 Energy & Water appropriations bill the U.S. House is scheduled to consider next week.

Following approval by the House, the funds must still be approved by the Senate and signed into law by the President. Manzullo will work with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, both of Illinois, to make sure the funding is protected throughout the process.

Continued development has placed McHenry County's groundwater resources at risk of over-pumping and contamination. Depleted groundwater aquifers may also be contributing to a loss of wetlands and the degradation of surface waters. At the same time, this ongoing and future development poses significant challenges to stormwater drainage as the shrinking landscape loses the ability to absorb precipitation and the region faces continuing pressure to develop flood-prone areas.

The federal funds will be used to accelerate the implementation of McHenry County's Groundwater/Stormwater Protection program, which uniquely seeks to address stormwater drainage and detention, floodplain management, soil erosion and sedimentation control, stream and wetland protection, and groundwater resources in a single program.

The county recently hired a Water Resource Manager and is now working with other local governments to develop the multi-year Groundwater/Stormwater Protection program.

"McHenry County is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. The superior quality of life McHenry County offers is what lures thousands of new residents to the area each year. But it's also what has placed tremendous pressures on the county's groundwater resources and stormwater drainage capabilities," Manzullo said. "I sought and secured this federal funding because I know the county's ability to provide groundwater to its residents and prevent catastrophic floods is essential to McHenry County's future and the comfort of generations to come."

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Congressman Don Manzullo is show at his Western Bypass press conference in Algonquin.

The map is from the State Water Survey. It shows shallow well pumpage. Below it is the key to understanding what the various colors mean.

Labels: A-LAW, Alliance for Land Agriculture and Water, Cassandra McKinney, Don Manzullo