Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division Commander Maj. Gen. John Peabody and St. Louis District Commander Col. Chris Hall met with state and local representatives December 20 in Alton, Illinois, to discuss current and future actions the Corps will take to maintain a safe and reliable navigation channel during low water.

The meeting, which was led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), was also attended by Capt. Byron Black, U.S. Coast Guard commander of the Upper Mississippi River Sector, Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon (D-Ill.) and river industry representatives.

“We’ve been preparing for this since early summer, which means continuous collaboration with our partners the U.S. Coast Guard and the navigation industry to help provide a safe and reliable channel on the greatest, navigable watershed in the world,” Peabody said.

Peabody explained the removal of 890 cubic yards of limestone that began this week near Thebes, Ill., is just one phase of the action the Corps is taking to improve the navigation channel for the river industry. With the removal of the rock, Peabody said, the Corps’ expects that restrictions on barges will not be necessary at this time.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that if we do have any interruptions, it will be short in duration as we continue to maintain a safe and reliable navigation channel,” Peabody said.

The Corps also began increasing releases from Carlyle Lake December 15 to help provide the depth necessary for river commerce to pass Thebes before the rocks can be removed. The full extent of the releases is expected to reach Thebes by Dec. 24. This will provide an additional six inches of depth in this critical reach of the river. Releases will continue if needed until the river level increases through precipitation, or until Carlyle Lake reaches its winter pool elevation. With the additional release schedule, Carlyle Lake is expected to reach its winter pool level in approximately three weeks.

Peabody said the Corps is also looking at the possibility of additional releases from other reservoirs, if that becomes necessary.

During the meeting, Hall explained the dredging actions the Corps is undertaking and plans to continue through the low water. “The Dredge Potter has dredged more than 6 million cubic yards of material on the Upper and Lower Mississippi since it began operations in June.”

“We will continue dredging problem areas, conducting channel patrols and surveys to keep commerce safely moving on the Middle Mississippi,” Hall said.

April looks like the target point for Northern Illinois cities seeking their share of Lake Michigan water to start putting in their requests.

Proposals already are in from Wauconda and Lindenhurst, but another dozen municipalities were expected to roll out their plans in the month ahead. The state does restrict water extraction from the lake, and late-comers to the application process could find themselves out of luck. [Lake County News Sun, March 18]

Aqua America, Inc. said in December its operating subsidiary in Virginia completed two water system acquisitions to expand the company’s customer base. The combined purchase price for the newly acquired systems is approximately $200,000. The company also announced its Pennsylvania and Illinois subsidiaries have completed the acquisitions of two water companies in their respective states.
In Virginia, the company purchased the assets of the White Oak Estates public water system in Botetourt County, as well as The Green and The Lodge public water systems in Lancaster County. The newly acquired systems currently serve a combined population of approximately 500 people, with a number of new residential developments under construction and/or proposed in the systems’ service areas.
In addition, The Green and The Lodge operations are adjacent to the company’s existing Kingsland water system, and the three systems are integrated into one operation and will be known as the Tartan public water system, named for the golf course on which the community is built.
Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc. acquired the Lakeside Acres Water Company in western Pennsylvania, which serves approximately 525 people living in the Lakeside Acres community in Sadsbury Township, Crawford County for $225,000.
Aqua America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nicholas DeBenedictis. said that the Lakeside Acres acquisition will also yield economies of scale as it already shares a pipe interconnect with Aqua Pennsylvania’s nearby Oakland Beach water system, which was acquired in December 2005 and is also operated out of the company’s Shenango Division.
Aqua Pennsylvania plans to invest nearly $80,000 over the next several years to improve the Lakeside Acres water system. The upgrades include process control improvements and new monitoring systems, as well as the installation of a radio frequency-equipped water meter reading system.
Aqua Illinois, Inc. acquired the water system assets of the Village of Sun River Terrace, which serves approximately 600 people in the Village. In addition to the purchase price of $95,000, Aqua Illinois has plans to invest nearly $210,000 in capital improvements over the next five years including improvements to the water tower, the replacement of pipes and fire hydrants, and the installation of new water meters. “Sun Terrace represents another ‘tuck-in’ acquisition as it’s near our Kankakee operations.
Sun Terrace is the second municipal acquisition for Aqua Illinois this year,” said DeBenedictis. Aqua Illinois acquired the Village of Manteno water system, also in the Kankakee area.
Contact:? Aqua America, Inc.?Donna Alston?Director, Communications?610-645-1095?dpalston@aquaamerica.com ?or?Terry Maenza?Senior Communications Specialist?610-645-1175?tmmaenza@aquaamerica.com

Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed into law August 17 legislation that puts Illinois on record as the region’s second state to officially endorse landmark water use standards as part of a Great Lakes water use compact.
“The Great Lakes are the lifeblood of our region,” said Cameron Davis, Alliance president. “With Gov. Blagojevich’s signature today, it’s now up to the remaining six Great Lakes states to do their part to endorse uniform, binding Compact legislation so that we can conserve our region’s waters.”
The legislation all but bans diversions of water that would leave the Great Lakes and sharply limits water withdrawals that would stay within the Lakes’ ecosystem. Minnesota in February became the first state to endorse the Compact.
The Alliance worked with legislative leaders Rep. Harry Osterman (D-Chicago) and Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago) to pass the Compact legislation in Illinois. The Illinois Environmental Council, Environment Illinois and Openlands Project helped greatly with the effort.
“The Great Lakes are a resource for us to use and protect, not a commodity to sell to the highest bidder,” Davis testified before Illinois House and Senate committees earlier this year. “They are not a resource to be squandered by any one industry, person or community at the expense of all of us. We all have a responsibility to protect the Lakes, not for a single interest, but for our families and future generations.”
Signed by the governors of all eight Great Lakes states in December 2005, the Compact will provide a set of uniform, binding water use standards for the region. Once endorsed by the legislatures of all the Great Lakes states, the Compact moves to the U.S. Congress for final ratification. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec are considering a complementary agreement that mirrors the Compact.
Major funding for the Alliance’s water conservation program is generously provided by the Brunswick Public Foundation and Oberweiler Foundation in Illinois, Brico Fund in Milwaukee and members of the Alliance.
August 17 Cameron Davis: 312-375-2004 (cell) http://www.greatlakes.org/news/press081807.asp