Published: November 19, 2007 09:40 am      

Hamilton County ponders new lake

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By PAUL LORENZ

paul.timesleader@mvn.net

McLEANSBORO — A proposal to build a 1,500-acre lake and dam in northern Hamilton County is in the works.

And a court hearing later this month will determine whether a referendum proposing the organization of Big Creek Conservancy District appears on the primary election ballot Feb. 5.

California-based Midwestern Energy Development Co. LLC is considering the establishment of at least one coal mine in Hamilton County, and its water needs — 1 million gallons a day for a single coal mine — are a driving force behind the lake proposal.

MEDCO has agreed to pay up to $1 million for engineering for the project and would likely be a major purchaser of water from the proposed conservancy district, Dr. Don Mitchell, Hamilton County Board chairman, said. Without MEDCO’s financial support, “we wouldn’t have a chance” to get the project off the ground, Mitchell said.

But it’s hoped the lake would help attract other industry, too, he said.

“A 1,550-acre lake could probably furnish 3 million gallons of water a day for industry,” he said.

Boundaries of the proposed conservancy district are also expected to be discussed at the hearing, set for 9 a.m. Nov. 29 in Hamilton County Circuit Court.

Territory for the proposed conservancy district includes all of Dahlgren, North Dahlgren, South Crouch and Crouch townships and part of Beaver Creek Township.

Legal voters who live within the proposed conservancy district would have the right to vote on the referendum question, according to Illinois’ River Conservancy Districts Act.

The proposed lake would be located between Delafield and Dahlgren, with the dam site located one mile west of Middle Creek Church Road, Mitchell said.

Property owners in the proposed conservancy district would pay an annual property tax to support the district.

The proposed tax levy — .083 percent — means owners of property within Big Creek Conservancy District would pay 8.3 cents per $100 taxable valuation, after equalization and exemptions are figured, Hamilton County Supervisor of Assessments Mark Becker said.

By comparison, the tax rate for property owners in Saline Valley Conservancy District — which includes the city of McLeansboro and southern Hamilton County — is 0.088060 percent, Becker said.

With the proposed levy, Big Creek would collect about $12,000 to $13,000 in taxes annually, Becker estimated.

The estimated cost to build the lake is $5 million to $6 million, Mitchell said. In addition to MEDCO’s share, it’s hoped state and federal grants of $1 million to $2 million would fund part of the project with the remainder coming from private revenue bonds to be repaid from the sale of water, he said.

Actual construction of the lake and dam would take about a year, and it would take an additional two to three years to establish the lake’s water level, depending on rainfall, Mitchell said.

Other benefits of a lake, he said, include flood control and irrigation for farmers in the area and increased opportunities for boating and fishing.

Though proposals in years past to build a lake in Hamilton County have been unsuccessful, “I think we could get this done and keep taxes low,” Mitchell said.