Most of the Barrington area residents drink water that is drawn from the shallow aquifers and bedrock that lie within the first several hundred feet below ground surface.

The state requires public water supplies to be tested for a wide range of contaminants on a routine basis, but with private wells that serve just one or two households, there is no regulation requirement for routine testing on existing wells– that means you are responsible for making sure your water is safe to drink!

Households with private wells are advised to test for bacteria and nitrates on an annual basis to detect these invisible, odorless contaminants.  These contaminants can result from animal or human waste or fertilizer components reaching the well water and can cause illness in humans.  The test is fast, easy and inexpensive, and the Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) is working with Lake County Health Department to make it even easier.

Through its partnership with the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), BACOG is pleased to promote a nationwide training initiative offered by the ISWS called the Private Well Class.  This is a source for free online courses that help homeowners understand and care for their water from a private well. Please visit The Private Well Class website or contact info@privatewellclass.org for more information.

Lawns are hearty and only require approximately an inch of water once a week. In cases of severe drought, such as we are experiencing at this time, not watering the lawn will do no harm. Lawns will turn brown, as most lawns are now, but they will bounce back when the drought is over. Watering a lawn for 3 to 4 hours a day is a waste of water. Watering a lawn for this amount of time with a garden hose wastes about 1350 to 1800 gallons of water which is equivalent to the daily water consumption of about 10 to 15 people.
The Northwest Water Planning Alliance is currently working on a proposal for uniform watering regulations for the communities in northeastern Illinois. A number of communities have some sort of regulations in place and most are similar in that they suggest that under normal conditions lawns be watered in the early morning and in the evening. During dry periods an odd/even watering program might go into effect and during severe drought conditions no lawn watering or car washing activities are allowed.
Please see the BACOG article, “Drought, Water Levels and Recommendations for Community Action” for additional information. -Dr. Thomsen

This can happen depending on the extent of the drought, but water levels here usually do not decline permanently from droughts. If the drought is long enough water levels can drop enough so that some shallow wells become dry. In our area, droughts do not last very long and groundwater levels recover during subsequent wet periods.

If you are on a public water system, and living in an older home you should check to see if a lead service line connects your home to the public service system. The local water department can usually inspect the line coming into the home or check their records to confirm if the house is connected to the water system by a lead service line. In addition, faucets and lead-based solder can also contribute small amounts of lead into drinking water especially if produced and installed before 1998. Since lead in your water has been tested at a level greater than 0.015 mg/L, options include having the lead service line replaced, using a home water treatment product certified for lead reduction, or using certified bottled water. Several technologies that treat drinking water in the home have been proven to significantly reduce lead, in addition to reducing other contaminants as well. These technologies include: Reverse osmosis, Distillation, Solid block and pre-coat adsorption filters, which are made with carbon or activated alumina, Water softening (for water lead-contaminated before entering the home).
As you have found out, a whole home treatment system is very expensive. Since you have installed a point-of-use reverse osmosis system for your drinking water you might consider doing the same for the baby’s bathwater. A less expensive option might be the attach a PUR water filter to the faucet when drawing the baby’s bathwater. -Dr. Thomsen

Measuring the water level in one’s well is not an easy undertaking. Therefore, I recommend that you have a water level measurement taken the next time that you have your well inspected or decontaminated by a well professional. It is difficult to gain access to the well and once access is gained there is always the possibility of introducing contaminants to the well in your attempt to measure the water level. The water level in a well will usually be the same as the level of the area’s water table if your well is located in or near a recharge area. In areas having relatively deep wells, the level of the water will be representative of the water level in the aquifer and may or may not be equivalent to the water table if one exists in the area.

A person who practices the science of Earth’s water, its movement, abundance, chemistry and distribution below Earth’s surface.

A formation composed of porous material that is saturated and permeable enough to transmit water in significant quantities to wells and springs.