Pilot Programs Show Promise For Water Quality, But Water Quantity Still Being Addressed For Fairbury Water System

By Gordon HopkinsWhile a series of pilot programs to address water quality for the City of Fairbury’s drinking water supply have proven promising, they do not address a more urgent problem: quantity.Currently, the city’s primary source for drinking water are the three wells at the East Wellfield, all three of which have seen a significant decline in water levels. City councilperson Brian Schmidt, who is also chair of the Water Sourcing Committee, gave a report on the most recent water levels at a meeting on Monday, September 30, 2025, “These are numbers going back in 2010 to the present. Well number three out there has dropped 15 feet in the last 15 years. Well number two has dropped 15.5 feet. Well number one has dropped 18 feet. So, I mean, all three wells out there are steadily losing water. So, I don’t know when the final date is when we got to shut one off, and it’s coming sometime soon.”Schmidt added, “Well three lost two feet just this year.” Despite the decline, Fairbury Mayor Kelly Davis has opted not to reinstate water restrictions the city was under during the summer, due to an anticipated decline in water usage that normally accompanies cooler weather, “With going into the fall, consumption is down about 300,000 gallons a day. We will continue to monitor it very closely.”Recent precipitation is not expected to have an immediate impact on water levels. City councilperson John Ebke explained, “That water doesn’t immediately go to the aquifer.”The city has another source of water at Crystal Springs but that wellfield has been offline since 2021 due to the presence of biofilm, which is a collection of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and also to a surface. While biofilm normally does not present a health risk, it clogs the filters and pumping equipment. One of the pilot programs is intended to address the biofilm problem. While initial indications from the pilot are promising, Schmidt pointed out that, even if the city decides to go forward with treatment based on the pilot, it won’t happen right away, “Problem is, we’re still a year away. We need to do something sooner than that.”Schmidt said, “In the meantime, we’ve got to survive on our East Wells out there.“We had some more testing done last week, and our water levels out there are still dropping, and our well number one out there, we found out, is just about dry. So, we’re going to need some sort of backup plan between now and whenever we get this final plan done.” The city is now exploring possible “emergency plans,” including the possibility of putting up a temporary treatment plant at Crystal Springs until a more permanent solution can be put in place.Another possibility discussed was pumping water from Crystal Springs and replacing filters as they become “gunked up” with biofilm. It was impossible to say how often that would be and, therefore, how much it would cost. The general consensus of those in attendance at the meeting is that it would not be cheap. City Councilperson Charlie Endorf said, “Ultimately, you’re going to have to raise the water rates. I don’t see any way around it. You know, people are going to bellyache about that.”Schmidt said, “They’ll bellyache a lot harder if we run out of water.”

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