Naperville homeowners paying $118 a month for water could eventually see that money flow to a brand-new, suburban-controlled system instead of Chicago's aging infrastructure.
The DuPage Water Commission and the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency announced a 15-year, up-to-$6 billion plan on Tuesday, Aug. 25, to build their own Lake Michigan water intake, purification plant and underground tunnels serving more than 30 communities, according to the Chicago Tribune. Naperville, which buys all of its lake water through the DuPage Water Commission, would be among them.
"They don't put anything back into the system; that's the problem," commission board chair Jim Zay said at the announcement in Elmhurst. "This year we'll pay them $130 million, and they put nothing in for infrastructure."
The project, called the Lake Michigan Regional Water Supply Initiative, would place a water intake east of Glencoe, pipe raw water through an underground tunnel to a new purification facility in Northbrook on the site of the former Green Acres Golf Club (purchased by the commission in 2024), then send finished drinking water south through a second tunnel around the west side of O'Hare International Airport. The line would serve seven northwest Cook County suburbs, including Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, before reaching the commission's Elmhurst headquarters for distribution to DuPage County customers.
What it means for Naperville bills
As of January 2026, the average Naperville residential water and wastewater bill is $118 per month, just below the DuPage County average of $120. General Manager Paul May said the commission expects rates "to be competitive with current rates with inflation over time" but offered no specific dollar figure for what customers would pay in 2041.
The commission says on its website that it has raised its total rate only "a couple of cents" since 2015, even as Chicago imposed steep hikes on the commission: 25% in 2012 and 15% in both 2013 and 2014 under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Reliability concerns
Zay cited two "major issues" in March 2026 and earlier in summer 2026 when water delivery to suburban customers glitched because of power problems in Chicago's system. Building a separate intake would let the commission and the Northwest Suburban agency back each other up during emergencies, May said. The new plant would also use updated technology to treat emerging contaminants including microplastics and PFAS.
Naperville currently uses about 13 million gallons of lake water per day.
Political hurdles
Chicago isn't on board. A spokesman for Mayor Brandon Johnson said any shift from the current arrangement would require state legislation, a lengthy permitting process and public capital subsidies. The city has supplied the commission with water since 1983.
The 2041 target aligns with the expiration of the commission's existing contract with Chicago, originally a 40-year deal signed in March 1984 and later extended.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi presented the commission with a $1 million federal Community Project Funding award at the Aug. 25 event. Commission officials said the infrastructure could eventually serve 20 additional communities beyond the initial 30-plus.
Naperville connection already under construction
Six miles of the commission's separate WaterLink pipeline project already run through Naperville along Book Road, from just north of 75th Street to 103rd Street. That project, which extends Lake Michigan water to Montgomery, Oswego and Yorkville, has been under construction since December 2025 and is expected to continue into spring 2027.
No Naperville City Council vote or public hearing on the new $6 billion initiative has been scheduled. No city official has publicly commented on the announcement.
City Hall week ahead
No Naperville City Council hearing on the water supply initiative is on the agenda. The next regular City Council meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 1. Agendas are posted at naperville.il.us.
