Potential water shortages are a prominent concern throughout northeastern Illinois, according to Derek Winstanley, chief of the Illinois State Water Survey.

The reason he said is that the number of wells drawing water from the state's deep bedrock aquifer is increasing with the construction of new developments, which raises concerns about how much water can be withdrawn without depleting the aquifer.

At the forefront of addressing this issue is Kane County, which Winstanley said has a multiyear project with a geological survey aimed at providing better scientific data for different aquifers.

The detailed study will reveal how much water the aquifers contain and how much can be withdrawn without depleting them.

In the past communities used water from Lake Michigan if the demand on aquifers was too great. But that is no longer possible, according to Winstanley, who said the U.S. Supreme Court limits the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the lake. And Lake Michigan water that is available is almost completely allocated.

"Kane County recognizes the key to future development rests on good scientific data. Their effort is really to be applauded," Winstanley said.

However, some local Hampshire residents are not as quick to offer congratulations.

Their concerns reside in the failure of well No. 9 and the recent approval of three large-scale developments.

Roughly 1,200 feet beneath the earth's surface, well No. 9 began pumping water in July 2004 and stopped four months later in October when the water was replaced by sand.

For some residents this sparked fears of future water shortages.

"It's very scary for us on our own wells as to what will happen when they start doing the wells for these big developments," said resident Barbara Burton.

But the village's engineering consultant, Brad Sanderson, said Hampshire residents have nothing to worry about.

He said there is no correlation between the well's problems and a future water shortage.

"It was sort of a failure of the sandstone beneath the surface," Sanderson said. "There are a number of wells in the Chicagoland area with this situation. It's not unusual. It has nothing to do with the amount of water."

It took roughly $150,000 and the firm Lane Western to remove the sand by using air pressure to lift it to the well's surface.

And now Sanderson said the well is producing more water than anticipated, about 1,200 gallons a minute.

However, with the newly approved Brier Hill development using about 390,000 gallons of water a day at build out, in addition to that used by the three upcoming developments, some people wonder whether the village is in over its head.

Among those concerned is Mark Williams a geologist with America's Water Resource Consultants who attended the public hearing on Brier Hill in March.

During the hearing, Williams said using 390,000 gallons of water a day and additional ground water demands would be mining for water.

He suggested the developer's engineer monitor the installment of the deep well.

Winstanley acknowledged that another issue needing to be addressed is the potential impact of new wells on existing ones.

And he said Kane County is doing just that by putting together records and producing models of shallow aquifers.

"We'll be able to use these (to determine) if a developer puts a new well in a certain place what impact it will have on an older well. It depends on where the wells are," Winstanley said.

He also suggested that communities practice various conservation methods, including reducing water use on lawns, gardens and washing cars and moderating toilet flushing.

According to Sanderson, Hampshire already has stipulations on lawn sprinklers.

Additionally, the village's engineering consultant said local leaders have attended various seminars on the issue and are seeking alternative shallow ground sources.

"Nobody within the region is saying we're going to run out of water tomorrow," Sanderson said. "People just need to be smart about their planning. They need to realize it's not an endless source."