Joliet keeps plugging away on leaky city water lines

The city of Joliet plans a detection “blitz” in older neighborhoods to find leaks that continue to drain nearly a third of the water that the city produces.

The city loses 29% of its water to leaks and other issues related to water loss.

That number is down from 35% in 2018 thanks in large part to a massive water main replacement program that will cost the city $68 million this year alone.

But Joliet needs to reduce water loss as it prepares to switch to Lake Michigan water.

Utilities Director Allison Swisher during a media briefing this week on the water-loss program said that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which sets a 10% standard for water loss, does not consider leaks “a good use of Lake Michigan water.”

“Illinois has a limited amount of Lake Michigan water that it can distribute from the lake,” Swisher said.

The city will intensify its hunt for leaks this year as it strives to reach the 10% standard.

“There will be a blitz of leak detention activity,” Will Jernigan, chief operations officer with water consultant Cavanaugh & Associates, said Tuesday during the media briefing.

Chicago-based Cavanaugh, which advises municipalities on water issues, was hired in July to help the city accelerate its pace to meeting the Lake Michigan standard.

The city is in the process of replacing all water mains built before 1970.

Cavanaugh and the city’s Utilities Department this year will try to pinpoint spots where the city is losing the most water.

To date, the city has replaced about 10% of the 700 miles of water mains in the city and a fifth of the 50,000 water meters in Joliet.

The $600 million program was launched in 2022.

The city also launched a water conservation push, which city officials said has been working.

Water usage is down from 8,000 gallons per minute in 2018 to 7,000 gallons per minute in 2024, even though the number of water customers in Joliet has been growing.

The amount of water being lost is down from 4,000 gallons per minute in 2018 to 3,000 gallons per minute in 2024.

But the reduced water usage also has worked against the city in the formula that determines the percentage of water loss. If the city uses less water, the amount of water loss becomes a higher percentage of all water used.

City officials are urging the state to change the formula to avoid being penalized for water conservation.

In the meantime, the city is trying to plug leaks in its system and replace meters that give false readings on water usage.

Jernigan said Cavanaugh and the city are trying to pinpoint areas where leaks are occurring. Some areas are close to the 10% target while others are not, he said.

The areas of highest loss include older neighborhoods on the East Side and near West Side. They go as far west as Essington Road.

“The city is working on the right things,” Jernigan said, pointing to the efforts to plug leaks and replace meters that give inaccurate readings.

Another 10,000 meters are scheduled for replacement in 2025.

Thirty miles of water mains will be replaced.

The 10% standard for water loss has been in effect in Illinois since 2014, Swisher said.

Only about half of the municipalities that use Lake Michigan water meet the standard, she said. But those not at 10% develop plans approved by the state for reaching the goal.