Bringing Lake Michigan water to New Lenox could be about $3 million cheaper if the village can get a low-interest government loan.
A pre-application for an $8.5 million loan to finance construction of an oversized water line between Tinley Park and New Lenox was sent off this week to Springfield, Village Administrator Russ Loebe told the Village Board.
The oversized line would be capable of bringing in enough Lake Michigan water for Mokena if residents there decide they want to switch their water source from local wells to the lake.
Mokena officials also sent in a pre-application for a low-interest loan Tuesday, asking for $1 million to pay the oversizing cost, Village Administrator John Downs said.
In a recent referendum, Mokena residents voted against switching water supplies, but the village still has an allocation of Lake Michigan water.
Making a financial contribution toward building a water main large enough to serve Mokena if voter sentiment changes will keep the town’s options open, village officials said earlier this year.
Downs said Mokena is negotiating an intergovernmental agreement with New Lenox to pay a portion of the engineering costs for the project.
To meet the loan requirement that design work be ready, New Lenox trustees awarded engineering contracts to Clark Dietz, Inc. of Chicago.
The three contracts include: $23,700 for preparing the loan application; $65,000 for photometric mapping; and $554,000 for plans and specifications.
The villages won’t know if they qualify for the loan until spring, Loebe said.
If all goes well, construction would begin in the summer.
The proposed route for the water main runs from Tinley Park through Mokena along 191st Street, LaPorte Road, Francis Road and Cooper Road into New Lenox.
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