The city of Joliet officially made their decision regarding the future its water supply. At a special meeting of the City Council on January 28, 2021, the Council voted to select the City of Chicago Department of Water Management to provide Joliet with Lake Michigan water by 2030.

New infrastructure will be built near the existing Chicago Southwest Pumping Station to convey water to Joliet via 31 miles of new water transmission mains to be owned, operated and maintained by the City of Joliet. The next phase of work will begin immediately to establish the framework for the implementation of the new water system to provide Lake Michigan water to Joliet residents by 2030. Preliminary engineering activities include siting and routing for the improvements, updating the funding strategy, developing permitting and environmental plans, and ongoing evaluation of a regional water system.

Details will be provided at a press conference to be held next week.