Water Sourcing Project Officially Dead

By Gordon HopkinsOn Tuesday, November 29, 2022, the Little Blue NRD (Natural Resources District) held a special meeting where they voted to terminate the inter-local agreement with the City of Fairbury to dig five new wells in an area approximately four miles south of Daykin.This is the final nail in the coffin of the Water Sourcing Project, which has taken more than a year of planning and testing and cost $131,776.98.Project Manager Mary Renn explained, “To date, the City of Fairbury has spent $3,254.78 in legal fees and $128,522.20 (M&A and Leonard Rice Engineering) for engineering, which included the drilling of five test holes, the LRE groundwater analysis, etc.”Renn also advised FJN, “As with the LBNRD, these expenses were paid entirely via user fees. No taxpayer money was used to fund the project.”The Fairbury City Council voted against proceeding with the project Tuesday, November 2, 2022.The purpose of the project was to bring lower nitrate drinking water to Fairbury and the Little Blue NRD. Fairbury’s current water sources have repeatedly tested high in nitrates. The city is examining alternatives to address the growing nitrate problem. Other possible solutions under consideration are finding another location for a well field, constructing a nitrate treatment plant or finding a way to address the ‘biofilm’ accumulation that has kept the Crystal Springs well offline since 2021.

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